TN: TN: Burgundy vs. U.S Pinot Noir blind tasting....plus a dozen others!!!

TN: BURGUNDY VS. U.S PINOT NOIR BLIND TASTING…PLUS A DOZEN OTHERS!!! - Buzzini House (7/27/2009)

Players: Mike Sai, BC Little, Edson Gonzales, Bob Summers, Brian Buzzini. The theme was a blind tasting with French Burgundy vs. U.S. Pinots. We had 9 bottles in the tasting…and ended consuming a dozen others!!! Spitting was key! Thanks everyone…GREAT wines, GREAT tasting…it was a fun way to spend a Sunday!
Starters

• 1997 Dobra Zemlja Syrah - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County
  Wonderful surprise! Alive as ever…super fresh, deep dark spice, Port-like dark fruit, plum skin sour, dusty dry woods, pepper, leather, little dry on the finish. Will go a few more years no problem. Tasty! (92 pts.)
• 2007 Weingut Markus Huber Grüner Veltliner Berg - Austria, Niederösterreich, Traisental
  Our palate cleanser…sharp, soapy acid, apples, peach, some raw peanut, little fume…nice, but a little out of whack for me. (88 pts.)

Mini 2002 Les Genevrieres Meursault head to head

• 2002 Domaine Michelot Mère & Fille Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
  Ahhhh…first smell, I knew this was going to be good! Very Roulot-like, bright crisp lemon/lime acid, flinty smoky hazelnuts, tropical, mineral spice…drank well all day! Blew away the 2002 Louis Latour Genevrieres we had side by side. (94 pts.)
• 2002 Louis Latour Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
  Second bottle in a week…this showed better than the first, no signs of premox, but compared to the 2002 Domaine Michelot Mère & Fille Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières…it was more oaked and less focused, not much “Meursault” to it. I did like the baked apple, lemon cut, and some mineral stone…but then I’d taste the Michelot again, and want more of that. Hard to believe same Vineyard, same year, different results. (89 pts.)

Blinded White’s
This was a shocker…I thought maybe they would all be dead…totally NOT! Kalin steals the show!

• 1999 Ridge Chardonnay Monte Bello - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
  Slightly oxidized, but not dead. Darker golden yellow color, baked apple, caramel, hazelnut butter. This wine went in and out of greatness. At times, oxidative…but then wonderful mineral and spice would take over. Definitely not like the last bottle I had a few years ago, but not at all dead yet. In the end, a tasty, mature Ca. Chard. (92 pts.)
• 1999 Michel Colin-Deléger et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
  Slightly oxidized, but not dead. Similar to the '99 Ridge MB, same golden color, baked apples, nutty, some nice citrus acidity, minerals. Most of these bottles have been premox dead…but this bottle still showed some life. Quite nice at times. (90 pts.)
• 1991 Kalin Cellars Chardonnay Cuvée LD - USA, California, Sonoma County
  What a HUGE surprise! I thought this was no doubt the '99 Ridge MB…but it turned out to be this wine. Very light, green tinge color, young looking. Fresh melon, tropical fruit…reminded me of a NZ Sauvignon Blanc with some age on it. Gorgeous dried citrus spice, minerals, exotic spice…the fruit was even a little sweet. This wine is 18 years old??? WOW! (94 pts.)

Main Event

• 2005 L. Tramier & Fils Pommard 1er Cru La Chanière - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard 1er Cru
  Closed down tight…dark berry(but lacking), sour acidity, rhubarb, some green veggi. I didn’t get much out of this. Needs time. (85 pts.)
• 2006 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
  Big and sweet, super tasty, well balanced. Raspberry, candied cherry fruit, forest floor, dusty potpourri spice, sandalwood, stems, KB-like. My first Rhys Alpine…LOVED this! (93 pts.)
• 1989 Louis Jadot Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot Clos de la Chapelle Domaine du Duc de Magenta Rouge - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
  No doubt Burg here. Leather, dried leaves, plum/cherry fruit, rose petal, earth funk…all well polished and smooth with the age, yet still firm and alive with fresh orange acidity. Great wine! (91 pts.)
• 2000 Cooper Mountain Vineyards Pinot Noir Five Elements Organic - USA, Oregon, Yamhill County
  Another HUGE surprise! A Grocery Outlet purchase my Mike for $3! Dead Burg ringer…in fact, I thought without question a Burg. Jammy strawberry, leather, earth tone mulch, super fresh orange acidity, some cocoa bean. Held up well throughout the day…I will be checkin the G.O. later in the day…WOW. (92 pts.)
• 2000 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir Laurène - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
  Deep dark color, huge plush wild berry fruit, wonderful spices, cola…all smooth and balanced. Drinking well right now, and should continue for many more. (92 pts.)
• 2006 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Clos de La Bussière - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru
  Beautiful and pretty wine…light bodied, but packed with floral spices, baking spice, candied cherry/strawberry fruit. Needs more time…but should be killer in 5+. (91 pts.)
• 2006 August West Pinot Noir Graham Family Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Sweet candied cherry/raspberry fruit, high toned alcohol…like a strawberry martini? Had some nice RRV spice…but a little too much alc. More of a cocktail wine. (89 pts.)
• 1999 J. Rochioli Pinot Noir West Block - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Another WOW wine! Dark plush berry(blueberry?) fruit, intense exotic spice, sandalwood, forest floor. Young tasting…got better and better throughout the day. (92 pts.)
• 2006 Inman Family Pinot Noir - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  I did not care for this wine. Thought it was a ringer? Under ripe red fruit, some red wine vinegar, dry and acidic. It did, however open a little as the day went on…but still too harsh for me. (80 pts.)

Edson’s blind
BIG thanks for this…my WOTN!

• 1999 Château Latour Grand Vin - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
  Edsons blind…I thought Pauillac, maybe Pontet Canet '03? Friggin AMAZING! So plush yet firm with dusty graphite tannin, dark blackberry, currants, cherry fruit…leather, dry French oak spice, deep deep floral spice, creamy vanilla, smoke. I held this is my glass as long as possible. Wish I could drink this everyday! And to think how a great Vintage would be like…truly amazing stuff! (96 pts.)

“Here try this…”

• 2005 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Pop and pour…needed to open. Not the epiphany as the last 2 bottles I’ve had, but still tasty cherry/raspberry fruit, white pepper spice, smoked cherry wood, dried tobacco leaves, old leather. Well balanced, silky smooth, yet stout with structure. Can’t wait to try some leftovers tonight! Great CdP. (93 pts.)
• 2002 Sine Qua Non Chardonnay Mr. K The Noble Man - USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley
  HUGE viscous liquid gold…loaded with sweet apricot, wild honeycomb, creme brulee crust, exotic white flower spice, tobacco. Has good acidity…but not as much as the '03 if I remember correctly. Super Alban fruit terroir of smoky hazelnut, match strike. Always a treat. (95 pts.)
• 1998 Rosemount Estate Syrah Balmoral - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
  Full bodied, blue fruits, dusty spice, pepper, smoky cedar/meat, creamy vanilla oak. Very young still, long way to go…but great tasting now! (93 pts.)
• N.V. Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Lot NV 46 Bottled in 1978 - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Funky electrical fire thing(not off putting) at first…surprisingly dark fruit, dirt dust, dried herbs, bayleaf, leather…didn’t really scream “Heitz”, or maybe it did…this was the end of the day wine after a LOT of others. For a NV wine…maybe from 1974-75 fruit?..it seems to be holding up better than expected. Will try some leftover tonight. Interesting side note…this was bottle #55,865 out of 55,865. (89 pts.)

Again, thanks guys for the killer wines…it was fun! Lets do it again SOON!

Posted from CellarTracker

Great notes B. I’ll have my thoughts on some of the wines later. Thanks again for the warm hospitality.

A lot of good stuff there. Thanks for the notes. I’m glad you enjoyed that Rhys Alpine Vineyard, which is one of my Cali faves. That Cooper Mountain Pinot sounds well worth checking out.

sorry i missed you fellas yesterday.

I’ll move my notes over as well:
Jeeez - where to begin… Many thanks to Buzz for throwing this together at the last moment! The food was simple enough to keep the focus on wine, but filling enough to make sure we could all drive after! And many thanks for Edson for being generous enough to bring a First Growth - which was my first experience with “Greatness”. I had a great time as usual, and couldn’t believe how many bottles we opened!

I don’t have all afternoon to give notes for each wine, so I’ll just make a few comments:

The Domaine Michelot Meursault was VERY nice - Bob said that these guys don’t have a USA distributor, hopefully that changes asap!

The blind whites were very interesting indeed. My favorite was the Colin-Deleger Burg - it had a slightly oxidative nose, but the palate was very focused with great acidity. The Kalin was a freak - very light in color and tropical flavors from an 18 year old California Chard. The Ridge was disappointing - the oxidative notes were just too strong for me.

Main Event:
I slipped in the Cooper Mountain Pinot thinking that there might have a good chance of it fooling some people. And I was amazed when I realized that it fooled pretty much everyone! Here is my initial note when I found the amazing deal: http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard...ad.php?t=147994" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - it’s hard to believe that I only have two bottles of this stuff left after buying two cases! The real interesting thing is the fact that we tasted it right next to one of the top Cuvees from Domain Drouhin from the same vintage, and the Drouhin drank like a RRV pinot!

The Rhys showed bigger than expected, with more RRV notes than SCM. It did have a nice lift in acidity which could have given it away, but I’m not sure that I could make the jump to KB. Then again, Buzz has had many more of those than I. All in all, a very nice wine on the New World side of things.

The Roumier and Rochioli were my other two favorites - the Burg being nice an bright in the mouth with a floral nose, and the Rochioli having a fantasitc nose of dried herbs that reminded me of Arcadian.

Once we were done with the pinots, Edson pulled a decanter out of the cellar with something very dark in it. He had already given away that it was BDX, and the nose definitely confirmed that. Left Bank all the way with a sweet leather, cigar box and dried herb nose. Big sweet tannins (my palate was already at the fatauge stage so the tannins hit me pretty hard), but with a solid core of dark fruits, laced with smoke and dried herbs. I knew this had to be something good, but I wasn’t quite prepared for Latour! This was a great wine, but still very young. Thanks again Edson - the more BDX I try, the more it sucks me to the dark side!

Not to be outdone by a First Growth, Brian proceeded to pull some more great wines and served them blind. The Donjon had a fantastic nose of cracked black pepper, with lots of meat blood notes in the mouth. The Mr. K was liquid honey - very thick and sweet with little acid, but it still seduced you with absolute hedonistic pleasure.

Overall it was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon! Thanks Mr. Buzz for opening his house again, and to everyone who made the drive! As always, I can’t wait till next time!

Forgot this one…

2002 L’Aventure Cabernet Sauvignon Estate - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (7/27/2009)
Very dark saturated blackberry, currant, blueberry, black cherry fruit…huge dusty spice/tannin, mocha, kirsch liqueur. Man…really tannic and dry(after having all these Pinots) but huge sweet fruit. Shows a little sweet ripe banana-like fruit I get in some Aussi wines. Very nice…especially day 2! (92 pts.)

Any idea how long the '99 Latour was decanted? Would really like to know as I plan to try one out soon. Last time I had it was at an academic tasting in 2006.

2 hours, but it could’ve used more.

Thanks, Ed. Will follow your lead.

Hey Bob…the '97 Dobra Zemlja is STILL rockin 3 days later!!

The Heitz is dead, the Cooper Mtn still drank well Mon., the '89 Jadot still rocked, the whites are losing it, the DD is drinking as Burgundian as ever… the L’Aventure is still singin…and can’t wait to get back into the Mr. K later on…I know THAT wine will never die!

Btw…Bob, Ed, BC???

looks like a killer tasting! niiiiice.

Sorry for the delay… works sometimes gets in the way
Thanks for being a great host, Buzz! And your generosity continues to amaze!!!

the following is a brief narrative since Buzz and Mike have done such a great job describing and transcribing

The two outstanding whites of the day were the Michelot Mere and the Kalin. Tasting the later blind just about floored me (in a good way). It was so unbelievably fresh and alive, and I did guess the right country.

The “controversy” that Buzz compared the Rhys to a KB completely makes sense to me… I thought it was a Russian River Pinot from 06. The nose was just so expressive that it seemed somewhat familiar. Though I did prefer the 89 Louis Jadot with its “tart cherry, spice, saline and good tannins”. That was my 4th place wine in the showdown.

Since i was the one who went into Buzz’s cellar to grab the blind bottles, it was a total fluke that both 2000 Oregons were in the same flight. The Domaine Drouhin was my least favorite, but still a very good wine… though I did write “syrah like” and had a touch of heat. The 2000 Cooper Mountain just edged out the 2006 Roumier Morey because i really enjoyed the “bright cherry, minerality and acidity”. But i ranked these 1st and 2nd in the blind battle!

The third blind flight started with the August West 06 Graham that was a touch sweet… but it might have suffered following up the two '00 Oregons and an '06 Burg. I really appreciated Bob’s contribution to the blind fun since it was the first (maybe 2nd) Rochioli. I placed it 3rd during the blind battle.

Then Ed brings the decanter… which turned out to be the 99 Latour, my first Latour. OMG! An outstanding wine!!
So Buzz blinds us with the 05 Le Vieux Donjon CDP that was dark, dark plum/purple. The nose was a little dusty and not giving up much in the first couple of minutes, but then it exploded with black fruits & pepper. Seriously good juice. I guessed the correct country!

So Buzz asks do we like dessert wine, and I’m like “heck ya!” since i was born in Montana. So he blinds us again. Deep golden orange color. Apricot and honey on the nose. The mouth was all marmalade and honey. I wanted a bit more acidity since this wine just ooooozed down the gullet. My first SQN dessert, the 2002 Noble Man.

Bob then opened a couple more bottles… didn’t try the Aussie but got to try the '02 L’Aventure Estate Cab which I really enjoyed.

Edson and I almost got lost getting back to Merced, and I almost made it home in time for True Blood.

Thank you very much Buzz for you hospitality and generosity! We’re coordinating with Mike Sai to blind a bunch of Oregon v California pinots sometime soon

Here’s a shot of all the Pinot bottles from the main event:

Sounds like a wonderful event!

One of your replies reminded me of another thread which brought up a question.

The 05 1er cru Pommard “La Chanie’re”. 05 was a very big year in Burgundy, the wines will need considerable time to come around, imo. You gave this wine an 85.

Is that a representation of a shutdown wine and telling everyone not to touch it now, or are you saying this wine is an 85 period, and that’s as good as it gets? You used the words lacking I think. Could it be shutdown, but in the long haul lacking nothing, or is it just an 85?

Thanks

I’ll jump in here Gordon since I brought the wine and liked it a little more than Buzz… but on this showing I wouldn’t give it more than an 87

This was one of my Garagiste wines with no CT notes, so I thought I would crack one to see where it is… I opened it a couple hours before the tasting to make sure it wasn’t corked. Drove it from Fresno to Buzz’s almost two hours away.

I recognized it was a Burg… and i think it was still shut down pretty tight. My notes are at home, but I remember the descriptor “hawaiian punch” so there must be fruit in there somewhere.

I wouldn’t touch another for at least three years, maybe five. It could be a 90 pointer someday, which would make it a very good QPR.

Thanks for the TN on the 1998 Rosemount Balmoral - the only vintage I’ve had - just a wonderful wine that has delivered every time.