WTN: Amiot, St Innocent, Belle Pente, Alma Rosa, Miner, Novy, BLIND

We have a small group that gets together for somewhat focused tastings. Tuesdays event was 2005 New World Pinot Noir … Blind.

Mystery White #1
Very pleasant wine. I thought it was slightly oxidized but everyone else disagreed. A clean pure wine with no off flavors. Guesses varied. Dietz landed on a Rhone…which is what I would have guessed … had I not brought it. A great example of what chardonnay can be. Can still hold for a few more years. 2000 Domaine Guy Amiot et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet

Pinot #1
As the first wine tasted I liked this. Toasty oak on the nose but not over powering. Clean and smooth. Somewhat simple. NO VOTES 2005 St Innocent Anden Vineyard

Pinot #2
The bar goes up a little bit. This wine is showing much better. Good acid and a fair amount of structure. I think shows good potential for a number of years. (2, 2, 1 = 17) points 2005 Belle Pente Willamette Valley (my 1st)

Pinot #3
Nose is showing much more candied than the previous two wines. Caramel and bubble gum. Good purity through the middle but the finish seems to dry out. (0, 0, 2 = 2 points) 2005 Kenwood RRV

Pinot #4
Lots of hey on the nose. Not in a bad way…but a good way .. hey. Big red fruit and big juicy acidity. Things do not seem to be integrated to me. (2, 0, 2 = 12 points) 2005 Alma Rosa La Encantada SRH (my 3rd)

Wine #5
The aromatics imply some whole cluster. Nice although there was an element of stewed tomatoes that I wasn’t crazy about. On the front palate you get big fruit but it is completely overshadowed by the massive oak. The finish is vanilla ice cream. A very tasty wine but I do not think I could drink more than one glass at this time. If the oak integrates and becomes less sweet, this wine could be a blockbuster. At this stage monolithic. (2, 2, 0 = 16 points) 2005 Miner Rosella’s SLH. (my 2nd) I could not believe this was SLH … let alone Rosella’s

Mystery White #2
Flowery aromatics. Great. The wine showed very sweet fruit. Not really like RS but very sweet. A nice wine. I was sure it was Alsatian. Once I found out it was Cali Chard I was sure it was the Novy Rosella’s...as the foil was being removed I stood up and walked away in all my pompousness. I was right! … ha ha … I was wrong … It was the 2006 Novy Chardonnay Keefer. This wine was very well liked.

1st Place = Belle Pente
2nd Place = Miner
3rd Place = Alma Rosa

Post Script
Since I brought the Anden, I thought I should do some further tasting. I took it home along with the Alma Rosa. It did show better but very different from anything else we tasted. It showed a little more complexity but ultimately with St Innocent’s track record, I think it will need more time. The Alma Rosa on the other hand was no longer pleasant to me. It was bubble gum city. I could not take the sweetness after a day of trying 7 wines. My wife on the other hand liked the flavor explosion brought on by the acidity a loads of fruit. I stuck to the SI.

Post Post Script
The Cali Pinots showed a lot more sweetness than the 2 Oregonians.

Cheers,
Jason

[Jenise]

Jason, I had to laugh at your reaction to liking an SRH pinot. Last month, Bob and I drank nothing but pinot all month (curious about what effect such restricted drinking would have on our palates), and one of the things that came out of it was a realization that SRH pinots suit me less than other California pinot growing areas, with apologies to the 03 August West Rosella's which I loved.

Say, I'm going to paste in a pic below that I took at Belle Pente winery just a few weeks ago. For anyone whose never visited, it might be refreshing to know that there's no magnificent Italian villa here, no marble edifices to wealth or swanky equipment, just Brian O'Donnell and whatever equipment's needed to make truly artisan wines.

A small, uncharacteristic slip in your comment, Jenise... SLH is Jason's nemesis, not SRH, which I think he likes..and even in the SLH he likes Sleepy Hollow and maybe even Pisoni....so.... go figure....

Jason...while I obviously didn't taste these later, as you had taken them home, I'm with your wife on Alma Rosa v. SI

It was a fun tasting, but my notes are in the office and I'm off for a weekend in Santa Rita Hills/Santa Ynez/Los Olivos, so I'm going to wing it.

The Guy Amiot was just lovely...don't know what it costs, but that is one I could drink more often...will turn anyone into a (French) Chard drinker..

The SI was just too flat...that's the description that kept hitting me...not devoid of fruit so much, though it was clearly less `sweet' fruit than most of the others, esp. the CA Pinots, as you point out...it's just that the wine flat lined for me....going nowhere...

I liked the Alma Rosa a lot, and look forward to dropping in there this weekend and see Chris looking like he is still dressed for `Sideways'. Actually, he is always in role...the wine had good balance, the right amount of acidity...and the hay, hey I didin't really get it.. maybe Pinot funk, though you didn't like that description....but it was.

The Miner was as you described it...it's funny, cuz I almost brought the same wine!!! I know no one would believe me now, but when I felt the weight of that bottle, my subsconscious screamed... MINER MINER MINER....it does taste of sweet oak, but I didn't hate it... I do think that if this comes together and that integrates, this could be really even nicer.. I'd still give it about a 91 on my rating scale...and very cool that another SLH wine wasn't hated by you... love it..

yeah..your victory dance when you saw the Novy label appearing was precious... and then the tragedy of defeat when it wasn't Rosella's. but Keefer Ranch.... wish I had it on tape....you soared to the heights of self-congratulation and then to complete humiliation in little more than a nano second.

Thanx again for hosting...and for continuing to turn me on to some wines I never would likely find on my own...

[Jenise]

A small, uncharacteristic slip in your comment, Jenise... SLH is Jason's nemesis, not SRH, which I think he likes..and even in the SLH he likes Sleepy Hollow and maybe even Pisoni....so.... go figure....

Jason...while I obviously didn't taste these later, as you had taken them home, I'm with your wife on Alma Rosa v. SI

A small, uncharacteristic slip in your comment, Jenise... SLH is Jason's nemesis, not SRH, which I think he likes..and even in the SLH he likes Sleepy Hollow and maybe even Pisoni....so.... go figure....

Sleepy Hollow yes ... Pisoni ... well I have had 2 I thought were good wines...but I have tasted about 50 ... not a good track record. But I have 4 bottles at my house ready to go. After that I will make my decision Care to join me. I have 01 Scott Paul & 01,03 & 04 from Arcadian.

J

Say, I'm going to paste in a pic below that I took at Belle Pente winery just a few weeks ago. For anyone whose never visited, it might be refreshing to know that there's no magnificent Italian villa here, no marble edifices to wealth or swanky equipment, just Brian O'Donnell and whatever equipment's needed to make truly artisan wines.

I had Belle Pente on my Memorial Day weekend must visit list, but alas, they were closed. Not enough wine available to have the open house.

Good problem to have.