Greg happened to be visiting the PA home office and found some time to drop by for a round of blind Pinots.
2012 Domaine Landron Amphibolite Muscadet
Loved the 2011 when visiting Nantes and the Domaine last year. Jo described 2012 as an awful year with yields < 50% and all kinds of vineyard problems from flowering (lack thereof) through harvest. He also hinted that carefully made 2012 Muscadet could be extremely pretty…so no surprises here. Soft florals and mild minerality. Appealing acidity with a lemon peel citrus edge and a bit more minerality through the midpalate. Fine composure and midpalate. Decent length. Attractive, clean and sleek. Excellent buy at $15. Worked nicely with sushi/sashimi starters.
2011 Puffeney Trousseau Cuvee Les Berangeres Arbois
Floral notes again to start with some wild strawberry and no shortage of rocky notes. A soft/medium attack featuring red stoned fruit (think red cherry pits). A bit more minerality with good acidity, a pleasing medium-bodied midpalate and easy tannins. Greg astutely picked this out at the “Ringer”, at first leaning towards Italy.
2007 Evesham Wood Puits Sec Pinot Noir
I’ve only consumed about a case of this wine since release and should be able to nail it, in my sleep. Pegged the last one served in disguise but laurels wilt incredibly fast in the blind Pinot guessing game. Thrown off the scent by the persistent new oak. I was thinking Cristom for a moment and eventually swung around to Inman and then Rhys. Very controlled style. Very much enjoyed the weight, acidity, fruit and style. The oak was not vanilla-like, more of a fresh new barrel character that just wasn’t ready to fade. I’ve found this issue in a number Oregon 07s. Something about the more delicate vintage tannins seems to repel oak integration. For some bottles, the oak prominence gets worse over time…i.e.: the 07 Evening Land Seven Springs. Not sure if/when it’s my hypersensitivity kicking in either.
2008 Belle Pente Estate Reserve Pinot Noir
Fine texture, silky tannins, attractive red and darker Pinot fruit with a light touch of sous bois. Excellent balance of acidity, weight and length. This was one of my favs at the IPNC tasting when the OR 2008s were first released. It’s still (not surprisingly) quite youthful and showing fine potential. Subtle notes of oak in the process of integrating. Served blind to Greg, he vacillated a little between Burg and OR and slid over to 2009 (riper vintage) controlled NSG due to lack of obvious OR tells. Good guess considering the robust acidity and fruit-driven vintage character. Currently a number of 08s do indeed show less OR typicity (i.e.: where’s all the sous bois, foresty floor, mushroom notes). Patience is required with better years ahead. Runner-up WOTN.
2002 Jacques Prieur Beaune Champs Pimonts 1er Cru
Just lovely. Beguiling integration. Showing a trace of initial funk with some mild tertiary olive notes, beautifully balanced with aged cherry (red and black) fruit. A touch of dried cherry. A bit of sous bois. Elegant! Moderately long. I could’ve stopped right here and snuck off with the bottle. Last week, I literally blanched tasting an over-oaked 2006 Jacques Prieur Meursault. Excellent oak integration in this Pinot. Picked the age window of 97 - 02 but was expecting an OR ringer, so incorrectly guessed Cameron Abbey Ridge. Don’t sit on these too long as they’re in their peak drinking window. Tied for WOTN.
2008 Le Cadeau Rocheux Pinot Noir
Greg is a big fan and supporter. I found it a little too ripe, a bit round, and quite warm. Fruit driven in keeping with the vintage. Somewhat big boned but not overly so for the vintage. New world for sure and again, not a lot of OR “tells”, seemingly consistent for 08 OR. My guess was young California. Surprised that the alcohol was < 14% abv.
2006 Mongeard-Mugneret Vosne-Romanee
A bit rugged and ever so slightly baked when first opened. All the bumps smoothed out nicely over the following 3 hours of passive aeration. Attractive mild baking spice. Red fruited with appealing minerality. Excellent acidity, ripe but certainly not overly so. The tannins rub but don’t interfere. Rich mouthfeel and very nice length. Greg guessed Gevrey. Another wine to spend a few hours savoring. Plenty of time in front of this village Vosne. Co-WOTN.
2007 Rhys Horseshoe Vineyard Pint Noir
Not at all what I expected. Red Griottes fruit with some minerality. Decent acidity. Appealing nose, quick attack and the finish disappeared like a stampeding lemming off a cliff. No protruding structural impediments at all. It reminded me exactly of the oddball grey market 2005 Jadot Corton-Perrieres from a few weeks ago…so I guessed that! The Jadot C-P was the most Californian unusually accessible Grand Cru Corton I’d ever tasted. My guess back then was Rhys…serves me right to go Vice Versa! On the positive, this is one very restrained Pinot at < 13% abv. Maybe air will help…lots of it…the kind Greg will be giving it as he returns to St. Louis with the baggage handlers shaking up the remaining 2/3rds bottle. Credit where it’s due as this was the most Burgundian Rhys I’ve ever tasted.
Good fun and fine company with Greg’s outgoing salesman employee (who just quit!), providing entertaining non-geek commentary.
Until next time.
RT