TN: Pinot Noirs

This month’s blind tasting group tackled pinot noirs.

2015 Blue Mountain Brut Rosé – this BC producer does a very good job with their sparkling wines. This was mostly pinot with a bit of added chardonnay. A very pale pink, it was an easy drinking start to the day’s work. Good nose, and length with a clean dry finish.

2018 Pavelot Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Guettes – fairly dark and with a smoky nose, a tad ripe and with cherry fruit working it’s way out with time. May improve with age?

1996 Chopin Chambolle-Musigny – my wine, presented early in the run in case it was fading (it was but not fatally). Pale colour with a smoky nose that include some soy notes. An elegant slightly faded wine that showed nice violets in the nose and still in decent shape.

1992 Newlan Pinot Noir Estate - this Napa pinot was in great shape - good colour, a fresher nose than the previous wine, sweeter fruit and some interesting violet in the nose.

2013 Foxtrot Pinot Noir “The Waltz” – this BC wine was made by a family of Swedes who tended to keep people away from their property – I had to walk in and ask if I could please buy some wine. After that they opened up a bit and even let me taste and buy! Excellent sweet fruit nose with faint hints of iodine, and a lengthy smooth finish. Very good.

2017 Cristom Pinot Noir Jessie Vineyard – good colour, excellent earth and dark fruit nose, smooth entry and sweet finish. Very nice.

2020 Burn Cottage Pinot Noir Sauvage Vineyard – very dark with a salty ripe dark fruit nose and medium length. Needs time. Central Otago, New Zealand.

2011 Calera Pinot Noir Jensen Vineyard – bright red with dark cherry notes in the nose, smooth entry and lengthy sweet finish. Good!

2003 Chamboureau Savennières Cuvée d'Avant Moelleux Clos du Papillon – lovely clear mid-amber colour, a hint of oxidation and mid-sweet, with very good length. Excellent cheese wine!

Next month – Southern Rhone varietals (from anywhere)

[Jenise]

You forgot my '92 Newlan!

[David M. Bueker]

2018 Burgs are going to need a lot of time to sort out.

You forgot my '92 Newlan!

Fixed, thanks for catching that.

[Jenise]

Some comments:

Loved your Blue Mountain rose. Though in general I don't enjoy aged roses as much as younger/fresher ones, this was very satisfying.

Re the Pavelot, I'm surprised where you listed it in your notes. It wasn't the first pinot of the day, it was actually the last, and that made a difference because, by comparison, it was so characterless vs. those that came before it. Nothing wrong with it (no technical flaws), but nothing especially good about it either. Wasn't hard to pick it out as an '18.

Your Chopin and my Newlan were an interesting pair in that it was the Californian, not the Burgundy, that showed how well pinots can age. Your Chopin was notable because of the necrotic/soy sauce thing--neither I nor Alvin had experienced that in old Burgundy before, though it's common in new world pinots that just fade instead of evolve. Yours did both, and it tasted better than it smelled. The Newlan was terrific.

And then came the best wines, the multi-faceted Foxtrot and Oregon-classic Cristom which were each exemplary examples from their respective AVAs, and lastly everybody's wine of the day--if everybody is Alvin, Bob, John and I anyway--the fairly perfect '11 Calera Jensen. That wine had everything the others had but in a more profound way, it was swoon-worthy. The Burn Cottage in between not so much, it was jammy-ripe and salty. Not at all what I associate with NZ pinot.

Sorry for the delay, it's been busy.

2015 Blue Mountain Brut Rosé – A nice clean BC sparkling wine and a good start to the lunch.

1996 Chopin Chambolle-Musigny – Bill's wine, I thought the wine was a little past it, which is somewhat surprising given the year; perhaps the producer also had a role to play as well..

1992 Newlan Pinot Noir Estate - You don't see many Napa pinots anymore! This was in much better shape, and had a lovely nose and the medium bodied palate was very well integrated. Drink now if you have one!

2013 Foxtrot Pinot Noir “The Waltz” – This was an impressive pinot from BC. I got the iodine on the nose too. Probably at peak now.

2017 Cristom Pinot Noir Jessie Vineyard – My wine, the first on the youthful side, but it was a subtle, elegant wine that kept getting better with air.

2020 Burn Cottage Pinot Noir Sauvage Vineyard – I have tried a couple Burn Cottage wines, this was a good rather than great bottle. A little riper than the predecessors and needs time.

2011 Calera Pinot Noir Jensen Vineyard – Wow, we have a winner! A beautiful, elegant pinot that was beautifully balanced with not a hair out of place! My pinot of the day.

2018 Pavelot Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Guettes – This didn't perform very well. Slight TCA or just in a funny place right now? It was OK, but tasted dull.

2003 Chamboureau Savennières Cuvée d'Avant Moelleux Clos du Papillon – My last of three bottles. They have all been outstanding. It's pretty rare to have a moelleux Savennieres, and this exploded with the quirky chenin flavours, with a rich, slightly viscous texture, great balance and a long finish. The cheese wines don't get a lot of attention, but I thought this was one of the wines of the day, although I admit I am a sucker for Loire chenins. Outstanding. Sad that it's my last bottle...