WTN: Wines with Japanese food

Very short notes on wines served with Kaiseki dinner of the Ordre Mondial at Tsumura.

Champagne Bellefon Cuvee des Moines NV - Light and lemony. Citrus rind.

Champagne Pommery NV - Toasty, sweet, deep flavor. Medium-bodied. More stuffing than the Bellefon and more my type.

Montes Limited Edition Pinot Noir 2007 - Oaky, sweet, tobacco.

Le Vieux Pin Perigee Pinot Noir 2006 - From Okanagan, British Columbia. Sweet nose. Light, hollow, very soft. Aside from a bit of cherry, not much going on here.

Dauvissat Chablis 2000 - Nice nose. Quite tart.

Chateau La Lagune 1982 - Good nose. Very soft. Fading fruit. Should have been drunk earlier.

Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Cork Dancer Pinot Noir S - 1 2005 - Very fruity, berry nose. Sweet, spicy, vibrant. Nice.

Yalumba Eden Valley Wild Ferment Chardonnay 2006 - Woody nose. No other comments. i guess I didn't like it.

Montes Alpha Pinot Noir 2006 - Nice nose. Soft, sweet and smoky.

What dishes were served with each?

What dishes were served with each?

Must have some meat or sauces to work with some of those red wines.

Montes Limited Edition Pinot Noir 2007 - Oaky, sweet, tobacco...
Montes Alpha Pinot Noir 2006 - Soft, sweet and smoky.

I sense a house style. Sounds kind of frightening for pinot noir to my tastes. What is your evaluation of the wines?

What dishes were served with each?

No particular pairings were made. You were free to get whatever wine you thought would go best with a particular dish. I seem to have lost the menu but will try to post it if I find it. There was the usual sushi and sashimi, a beef roll, squid in a very pungent and salty sauce, an eggplant jelly, toro teriyaki, tempura, boiled spinach, miso soup, and 6 other dishes I can't recall. The Champagnes went well with the sushi, sashimi and eggplant jelly. The reds were a reasonably good match for the toro and beef roll. I stayed with sake for most of the other dishes.

Montes Limited Edition Pinot Noir 2007 - Oaky, sweet, tobacco...
Montes Alpha Pinot Noir 2006 - Soft, sweet and smoky.

I sense a house style. Sounds kind of frightening for pinot noir to my tastes. What is your evaluation of the wines?

Without Burgundy as a reference, they're actually not bad although the Limited Edition is a bit rough and both are heavy for Pinot Noir. Side by side with a good Burgundy, they're pretty clumsy.

Without Burgundy as a reference, they're actually not bad although the Limited Edition is a bit rough and both are heavy for Pinot Noir. Side by side with a good Burgundy, they're pretty clumsy.

Aha, that makes sense. Are they rough and heavy because of the terroir or the winemaking or both? I don't hear much about Chilean pinot noir but then again I don't hear much about Chilean wine in general.

Not sure about terroir but I think they like using oak and and very ripe fruit which accounts for the heaviness.

Montes Limited Edition Pinot Noir 2007 - Oaky, sweet, tobacco...
Montes Alpha Pinot Noir 2006 - Soft, sweet and smoky.

I sense a house style. Sounds kind of frightening for pinot noir to my tastes. What is your evaluation of the wines?

Without Burgundy as a reference, they're actually not bad although the Limited Edition is a bit rough and both are heavy for Pinot Noir. Side by side with a good Burgundy, they're pretty clumsy.

I give it even odds had you lined up the the wines covered up and did a ranking - a la blind tasting - at least one of the Montes would have ended up Number 1; but that kind of ranking would not likely happen most instances if the wine labels were exposed.