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TN: West Coast Pinot Noirs

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Bill Spohn

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TN: West Coast Pinot Noirs

by Bill Spohn » Sat May 21, 2022 4:44 pm

We had an interesting wine tasting yesterday – Pinot Noirs from the West Coast (i.e. California, Oregon, Washington and BC).
We wet our respective whistles with an off topic wine:

2019 Domaine Drouhin Arthur Chardonnay – light in colour with a nutty lemony nose, excellent balance and a well balanced lengthy crisp finish. Very good.

2020 Le Vieux Pin Pinot Noir Rosé Vaïla – this pink wine is made from 95% pinot noir and 5% syrah. It has a deep pink colour and a nose of sweet cherry with a long clean finish. Perhaps the best rose made in BC.

2016 Chateau Wolff Estate – this is a winery I had never heard of before, located on Vancouver Island. The wine was youthful, well balanced and bright and did a good job of seeming Burgundian. I was so surprised to ‘discover’ a winery I had never heard of making wines that good that I called them the next day to find out about them and to order a case of the current vintage (2020). It was only 13% alcohol, and the vines are over 30 years old. They specialize in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay but also make a bit of cool climate syrah.

1971 Hanzell Pinot Noir (Sonoma) – the person that brought this had a back up but even so, if asked whether a 1971 PN might still be good, few of us would have bet money on it. It was getting pale and had an interesting tarry nose, ripe and obviously Californian in character, it had good structure and hadn’t dried out as many wines this old tend to do. Good show!

2008 Arcadian Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard – this Santa Rita Hills wine was a lambent red colour with a slightly funky nose of sweet cherry with some spice. The spiciness followed onto the palate and the wine had good length. Good.

2011 Foxtrot Pinot Noir Henricsson Vineyard
– run by a couple for many years and without a sales outlet at the winery, we always had to show up, knock on the door and hope the owners were home! This wine had a very nice spicy PN nose with some berry notes, was still a fairly deep colour and excellent balance and length. One of the best Pinots in BC.

2010 Tinhorn Creek Pinot Noir Oldfield Series – this is the premium line from a BC winery. Spicy dark cherry nose, with licorice notes and a long smooth f inish. Good.

2012 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir Georganne – dark, ripe,, sweet and still tannic. Good length but not yet ready for prime time. Pure fruit, not overly sweet Left in an open bottle overnight and had improved a day later! Needs time.

2005 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Seven Springs Vineyard – fairy dark still, and ripe with a nutmeg cocoa nose, young and tight for the age – still has some way to go but will be good

2016 LaStella Moscato D'Osoyoos – small batch fermentation, hand picking and small production, although this is not a replica of an Italian Moscato d’Asti (at 9.7% alcohol, it is about twice the alcohol) it is a very pleasant dessert wine and good with cheese. Good acidity balances it.

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Re: TN: West Coast Pinot Noirs

by Jenise » Sat May 21, 2022 5:58 pm

Bill, agreed about the Drouhin. One of the best vintages of that wine I've ever had (I own it, too). Loved the LVP rose, I've never had it before. Very savory, I would categorize the style as Tavel-like.

You and I normally agree for the most part but we're miles apart on the Wolff. My notes say: greenish, underripe, lightly skunky, cactus-pear fruit and "I don't care for it". I didn't think it Burgundian, not West Coasty either but that didn't make it Burgundian by default. Closer to the few pinots I've tasted from Chile--all had that skunky cactus thing.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Re: TN: West Coast Pinot Noirs

by Bill Spohn » Sat May 21, 2022 6:20 pm

Usually we are pretty close on wine assessments - interesting that we differed over that one. Two others liked it enough that they are splitting a case with me.
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Re: TN: West Coast Pinot Noirs

by Jenise » Sat May 21, 2022 6:31 pm

I've got to run--I'll get back to my notes tomorrow!
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Re: TN: West Coast Pinot Noirs

by David M. Bueker » Sun May 22, 2022 3:30 pm

A few things there that serve as a reminder that not all new world Pinot is “drink early” stuff.
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Re: TN: West Coast Pinot Noirs

by Jenise » Sun May 22, 2022 6:52 pm

Okay, back, and I read through the rest of your notes. Agree with you down the line, including that the St. Innocent, at 17 years old, seemed too young to drink. Or at least, two hours of decantation didn't budge it nearly enough. My WOTN was your Foxtrot.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Re: TN: West Coast Pinot Noirs

by Bill Spohn » Mon May 23, 2022 12:15 pm

I enjoyed the Foxtrot too - it was the first vintage I'd bought back around 2014 and I hadn't opened one (though I had tasted other people's bottles) until this tasting!

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