2007 Roessler Bluejay Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley (California)
I invited friends over for a glass of champagne yesterday afternoon, but upon greeting them learned that on their way over they were flagged down by a panic-stricken woman in the street whose husband had just collapsed. They didn't know her, but the man turned out to be a golfing buddy of our friend who they tried to revive, and though paramedics showed up in short order they're pretty sure the guy didn't make it. They arrived here pretty badly shaken, a somber occasion which needed not the ebullience of bubbles but the comfort of Jim's favorite grape, pinot noir, so I popped the cork on this recent arrival to my cellar.
The nose was not so much perfect California pinot noir as perfect pinot noir period, having the positive attributes of what makes pinot noir from any area a great pinot: cherry, plum, mushroom, Asian spice, forest, cola, tomato leaf and tea, but which one rarely encounters in a single glass. The same flavors played across the palate with the same "quiet power" someone here (Mark S? Mark Lipton?) used to describe one of Roessler's chardonnays which was not by any means delicate but which was also by no means 'big' in the sense that usually applies to California. The acid and tannins are balanced, and the wine has enough fruit to not need food but neither is it overtly sweet. It's only drawback from true perfection was a bit of heat that we all noticed on the finish of our second pour but which hadn't been an issue up until then and caused us to check the label: indeed, 14.4% alcohol, pretty high for Anderson Valley (one of California's coolest wine growing regions) and which I regret, but such is everything else so superb about this wine that it won't stop me from loving the remaining two bottles.