January Wine Focus: Back to basics with Pinot Noir

[Jenise]

I have a South African pinot on hand called Botanica that really messes with my mind. I bought it from Last Bottle or something after reading that it was the BTG bar pinot at Cafe Boulud in NY. It's very light, somewhat orange-hued and it takes a big bowl to show well. It does not look or taste like any pinot noir I've ever had.

Then last weekend I walked into a local store who had a rep showing So African wines. Lo and behold, there was the Botanica. Couldn't remember which vintage I owned offhand, but would have bet no more recent than '13 based on what I tasted last time I opened one just before Christmas. Was surprised to taste the '16 they were pouring and find it not much different than the wine I had at home--'thin'-ish, and more advanced than one would expect for a '16. So I was doubly surprised just now to check my cellar and realize that the wine I own is as recent as '15.

Has anyone else ever had this? Here are all four tasting notes I've logged:

Red
2016 Botanica Pinot Noir Mary Delany Collection Elgin more
Options1/14/2019 - I LIKE THIS WINE: NR (Edit)
In-store tasting pour. Other tasters were complaining that it was 'thin' and didn't recognize that this is a stylistic choice. I know the wine from a past vintage and understand the difference but, especially with only about a teaspoon of wine to judge it by, I don't blame the unfamiliar for hating it. I'm sure they didn't sell a single bottle.


2016 Botanica Pinot Noir Mary Delany Collection Elgin
Meager in-store tasting pour, barely enough to wet the bottom of the glass. Very pale in the glass. Others around me were hissing 'thin!' and didn't recognize this as a stylistic choice. Can't blame them--few have ever met so light/pale/restrained a pinot as this. Needs more wine and a big glass to show well. I'm sure they didn't sell a single bottle.

2015 Botanica Pinot Noir Mary Delany Collection Elgin
Same as last bottle: light bodied, prematurely mature but tasty. Drink soon.

2015 Botanica Pinot Noir Mary Delany Collection Elgin
Opened for guests alongside a '13 New Zealand pinot, and the comparison surprised. Blind, would have guessed this the older wine--paler and brick-colored with a leathery nose that attractively includes herbs and a little Burgundian wet dog. Not a long hauler but the premature maturity is delish.

2015 Botanica Pinot Noir Mary Delany Collection Elgin
Ligh-med body with some layers. Drinks like a decent village Burgundy.

[David M. Bueker]

2015 Thierry Violot-Guillemard Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru En Reugne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru (1/15/2019)
Still quite open and easy to drink, the focus is on red fruit, with supporting but gentle tannin. There's a subtle spice on the mid-palate, and a finishing dash of earthiness. I'm thinking 5-7 years to get this into a more interesting window. It's perfectly enjoyable now, but worth the wait to see what develops with some time.

[Jenise]

A long time ago we discovered the pinots of Chris Whitcraft (RIP) on the recommendation of Ed Selyem, he of Williams Selyem. It was in fact our first real introduction to the pinot noirs of Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez (now including the AVAs of Santa Rita Hills and Santa Lucia Highlands) in general and the Bien Nacido Vineyard in particular. A huge wide vineyard planted by block to many different clones, Chris made and labelled each separately accordingly: he had blocks Q, N and S.

Two years ago we visited Flying Goat Winery at the Lompoc Wine Ghetto where they make mostly pinot noir and some really stunning bubblies. In chatting with the winemaker I learned that his Bien Nacido had been one of Chris Whitcraft's blocks. Could be wrong, but I believe he said it was the Q which was a Pommard clone.

So, we have a history. Bob and I drank one last night:

2013 Flying Goat Cellars Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyards Santa Maria Valley
Delicious pinot; excellent vintage, excellent vineyard. Generous bing cherry fruit with a hint of tobacco (unusual for pinot, I know) and garam masala. A bit of orange peel is peeking in from around the corner. Well-stored bottles should cellar well another five years easy.

Generous bing cherry fruit with a hint of tobacco (unusual for pinot, I know) and garam masala. A bit of orange peel is peeking in from around the corner.

Yes, an interesting combination of flavors.

Although of course red Burgundy shows a range of flavors and textures, sometimes tilting into cabernet or nebbiolo directions. Not sure how that tobacco presented itself. I guess in Burgundy it would not usually be also present with the juicy cherry element.

Anyway, sounds like a fun wine.

[Robin Garr]

Joseph Drouhin 2016 "LaForêt" Bourgogne Pinot Noir ($15.99)

Ruby, clear yet dark almost all the way to the edge, where it meets a pale reddish-violet rim. Good young Pinot Noir aromas, red fruits with a pleasant, characteristic hint of tomato skin. The fresh, acidic flavor adds subtle spice, with light but perceptible tannins becoming more evident along with light notes of raspberry and blueberry in a long, tart finish. Moderate 12.5% alcohol stays in the background. U.S. importer: Dreyfus, Ashby & Co., NYC. (Dec. , 2018)

FOOD MATCH: Wine maker Veronique Boss-Drouhin takes note of its versatility, suggesting "grilled chicken, pasta with pesto ... simple things, a sign of the times." We enjoyed it with a simple Southern Italian pasta dish, lenticchie, a mix of lentils and broken bits of linguine with tomatoes, onions and garlic.

WHEN TO DRINK: Enjoy over the next three to five years, assuming cool storage; don't try to cellar it longer.

VALUE:
It's a good value at Wine-Searcher.com's $17 average retail and a better buy at my $16 local price; check Wine-Searcher and local wine shops, though, as it can be found as low as $10 or so.

WEB LINK
This English-language fact sheet on Drouhin's web pages contains a good overview, with links to more detail.

See this page from U.S. importer Dreyfus-Ashby for more information.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Find vendors and compare prices for Drouhin "LaForêt" Bourgogne Pinot Noir on Wine-Searcher.com.


The Seeker 2016 Pinot Noir Vin de France ($12.99)

Clear dark reddish-purple, with bright ruby glints against the light. Distinct cherry aromas, a mix of fresh red cherries and dried cherries, with a back note of warm brown spices. Bright and mouth-filling, luscious cherry fruit fills the mouth, nicely structured with zippy acidity and a touch of soft tannic astringency that builds into a very long finish. Good wine, if a bit "New World" in style for a French Pinot Noir. The label claims 12.5% alcohol, and declares the wine vegan, made with no animal-sourced products. U.S. importer: Kobrand Corp., Purchase, N.Y. (Jan. , 2019)

FOOD MATCH: The high fruit suggests more hearty meat, bean or cheese dishes than a more subtle Pinot might require. The winery also suggests, broadly, pizza, pasta, and barbecue. It made a lovely match for us with cassoulet.

WHEN TO DRINK: There's no rush to drink it up in the next year or two, particularly thanks to the metal screwcap, but it's not intended as a cellar keeper and won't benefit from extended aging.

VALUE:
Wine-Searcher.com's $13 average retail matches my local price. You won't find much good Pinot Noir for less.

WEB LINK
Here's The Seeker's concise fact sheet on its Pinot Noir.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Compare prices and find vendors for The Seeker Pinot Noir Vin de France on Wine-Searcher.com.

[David M. Bueker]

The winery also suggests, broadly, pizza, pasta, and barbecue.

Pretty much the un-Pinot list of foods.

[Robin Garr]

The winery also suggests, broadly, pizza, pasta, and barbecue.

Pretty much the un-Pinot list of foods.

It's kind of an un-Pinot. Or French Pinot for Wine Spectator readers?

[Jenise]

David, while I agree with you on the un-pinot list of foods, I would challenge you to a month of drinking nothing BUT pinot noir while eating the same foods you would normally eat, from steak to tacos or whatever. We did that once, and I was amazed at how amiable a match pinot was for virtually anything I put in front of it. And mostly, it made me hyper-aware of the various styles of pinot--the selections for each meal weren't random. There really is a pinot for every occasion.

That said, here are two we opened last night to pair with baked salmon topped with a Lousiana-ish Dirty Bearnaise (in which Jenise browns the butter the shallots sweat in and adds a dash of cayenne to copious amounts of dill and tarragon, for starters):

2010 Anthill Farms Pinot Noir Campbell Ranch Vineyard Sonoma Coast
First pour was clear and almost surprisingly sweet. A good bottle, I thought. Second pour was cloudy, rank and undrinkable. This is the second of two like bottles. Major disappointment. $100 down the drain (for both).

2014 Phelps Creek Vineyards Pinot Noir Becky's Cuvée Columbia Gorge
Phelps Creek is a winery I like a lot, located on the Oregon side of this two-state AVA which I also like a lot. Minerally as befits Gorge fruit, medium bodied, cherry fruit, acid-driven. I've always enjoyed the acidity in these wines but this time found it mildly annoying: didn't seem to be in a dumb state vs. just entering a phase where in the race between fruit and acid, acid's winning.

[David M. Bueker]

Odd...that's very un-Anthill.

On the styles of Pinot, that's likely true, but in general I no longer buy the kind of Pinot that goes with heavier dishes.

[Jenise]

On the styles of Pinot, that's likely true, but in general I no longer buy the kind of Pinot that goes with heavier dishes.

Nor do I. And for the most part, never did. You know where my tastes are--all that goodness came from the mostly medium-bodied spectrum. My point was that when you narrow your focus, small degrees of difference become large. And you don't have to drink a heavy bodied wine to enjoy a good steak.

[Jenise]

Two wines brought by guests on Thursday night:

2012 Belle Glos Pinot Noir Las Alturas Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands
I am radically not a BG fan, but did find this bottle brought by a guest to be entirely pleasant though not remarkable. Perhaps because of bottle age, it didn't exhibit the cotton candy/strawberry milkshake notes remembered from previous encounters with BG wines. Nor did it scream MegaPurple. Decent.

2017 ZD Wines Pinot Noir Carneros
Brought by a dinner guest. Bright warm ruby red with orange glints, barely medium bodied in look and mouthfeel, cherry fruit with some sandalwood. Had a glass without knowing vintage--was shocked to find it so recent. Flavors seem developed, like 2010, with the kind of body that's lightened by bottle age. Good, though. This is a winery that's been around since like forever. Does anyone know, is it still family owned or is it another Kendall Jackson, or something like that?

I've become a big fan of Louis Boillot in recent years, but decided to check out the brother's estate with 2015 Lucien Boillot Volnay. I had heard that the Lucien wines were more approachable, but the 2015 fruit plays a big role here as well so it's impossible to isolate the style vs. the vintage. Either way, friendly easy and fruity, tilting a bit soft but then has some underlying fine mineral points to the structure. Not as crisp or aérien as Louis and probably never my preferred style, but delicious enough to think about pursuing other vintages.

[Jenise]

I've had some really delicious ones, Rahsaan--usually young and qualified by the lower price I pay for them vs. the Pousse d'Ors of my dreams, but none-the-less they're solid.

I had no doubts about the quality of the Lucien Boillot wines, I expected them to be solid. I just wasn't sure how I would take to the style. I didn't expect it to be as much up my alley as the Louis wines. But, it would not be the end of the world if I started buying from producers that were a bit more approachable and easier to open! (Pretty much all the Burgundy I buy tends towards the backwards do-not-open-me-now style) Alas, Lucien is unlikely to be this, but will see. Next weekend probably opening a 2015 Gevrey to see what that's like.

[David M. Bueker]

I opened a bottle of 2014 Enfield Wine Co. Pinot Noir Antle Vineyard last night, and when I went to write a note, I read my note from four months ago. I guess I should not be shocked, given how little time has passed, but the note I wanted to write had already been written...by me! And so...

2014 Enfield Wine Co. Pinot Noir Antle - USA, California, Central Coast, Chalone (9/8/2018)
This remains a unique Pinot for California. It’s similar to my first bottle, with the fruit really feeling anchored by the tannins. There is plenty of sunshine to the fruit, but it is always held in check. Still young, the stuffing and balance is there to allow development for complexity. This is one of the more interesting young California Pinot Noirs I have ever had.

I tried...

2001 Pierre André au Château de Corton André Pommard
Corked - damn tree bark. Unfortunate as always, the wine wasn't over the hill at all, with the fruit still alive and fresh, but definitely corked.

This illustrates that different folks have different taste buds and like different wines. We and many of our friends really enjoy Sea Smoke. On the other hand we have never understood the appeal of Riesling....which to us has the smell and undertaste of kerosene. Different strokes for different folks.

I've become a big fan of Louis Boillot in recent years, but decided to check out the brother's estate with 2015 Lucien Boillot Volnay. I had heard that the Lucien wines were more approachable, but the 2015 fruit plays a big role here as well so it's impossible to isolate the style vs. the vintage. Either way, friendly easy and fruity, tilting a bit soft but then has some underlying fine mineral points to the structure. Not as crisp or aérien as Louis and probably never my preferred style, but delicious enough to think about pursuing other vintages.

I did follow up with the 2015 Lucien Boillot Gevrey Chambertin this weekend and it was pretty much in the same mold as the Volnay. A bit less silky, a bit more meaty, a bit wilder in the flavors, but same soft fruity gateway-Burgundy-for-CA-pinot-lovers style. I guess 2015 was not the best vintage to try this style, but I've had many other 2015s that showed the elegance I enjoy. Oh well, you live and you learn and I won't be making many efforts in this direction in the near future.