Part 3 of 3:
Our dinner group enjoyed another fine evening out, this time at one of our taste treat favs, Uncorked. We were seated on their outside back patio which had been solely designated just for us so we could spread out and also have separate tables for all 18 wines and enough space on the dining table for all of our wine glasses.
Our specific wine theme on this night, in addition to the usual champagne and white Burgundy, was to do a blind tasting of 1er Cru red Burgundy vs. US Pinot Noir and as with all blind tastings, it was truly educational and informative. Of all of the wines, there were some individual bottles that stood out way above and beyond all others and my notes will be broken down into 3 parts to give those bottles proper respect and not just another wine of many on the same night.
I have already posted notes on the 08 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, and for the 14 PYCM En Remilly and 12` Joseph Drouhin Marquis de Laguiche Montrachet.
We proceeded to taste 14 red Burgs/ US Pinots in fights of 2. Due to the immense amount of wines, we only had a short time to evaluate each wine for what it showed in its early stages in the glass and so our impressions were just that, only an early stage amongst stages and therefore not a true representation of the final product. Here are the separate notes for these:
2010 THIERRY MORTET VIGNE BELLE GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN BOURGOGNE ROUGE- this showed well with nice, inviting aromas of spicy red cherry and a hint of pepper; there was more of the same on the palate as it was delivered with a medium body and weight; it was smooth, easy and gentle and obviously not a 1er Cru, but a good wine nonetheless.
2012 BLOOMS FIELD DOMAINE DE LE COTE LOMPOC STA. RITA HILLS PINOT NOIR- made by Sommelier Rajat Parr and a locally brilliant winemaker, Sashi Moorman, both of Sandhi Wines, this was very good as it was loaded with red fruit enhanced by streaks of spice, pepper and cinnamon; red raspberry and red cherry were most prominent in the taste profile in this lovely and fun, fruity wine.
2010 SIMON BIZE LES SERPENERIERES SAUVIGNY- les- BEAUNE 1er Cru- this was one of my brings and although I’d had it before, I didn’t recognize it, but I did like it enough to make a note to get it; funny thing about blind tastings; along with nice finesse and charm, cinnamon and spicy red raspberry is prevalent throughout; it had a medium body and flavor expression, but had enough stuff to please and as such, received some praise and a call for it to be Burgundy prior to revealing.
2005 SAINTBURY BROWN RANCH, LOT 082, POMMARD CLONE CARNEROS NAPA PINOT NOIR- lots of oak influence here that overwhelmed the red and dark fruit that was made up mostly of red cherry, black cherry and blackberry; vanilla, toast and sandalwood accents seem to mask some of the fruit and I`m thinking a decant might have helped for this to come together sooner than the time we had to allow for it to do so.
2004 FOXEN SEA SMOKE VINEYARD STA. RITA HILLS PINOT NOIR- yikes! I have 2 bottles of this and have saved them knowing they are big boys that need lots of time and now one comes up in a blind tasting and it is not showing so good; it’s way out of balance being super fruit forward with seriously ripe and almost pruny dark fruit dominating all the way through; there’s a strong note of cough syrup and then some VA arrives in the form of nail polish; hopefully, this is just one bad bottle and I’ve got 2 good ones.
2018 RAEN ROYAL ST. ROBERT CUVEE SONOMA COAST PINOT NOIR- this is made by the grandsons of Robert Mondavi, Tim`s boys, Carlo, winemaker, and Dante, winegrower, and it pays tribute to Robert; 100% whole cluster, natively fermented, aged in neutral oak barrels and not filtered nor fined; it’s got lots of red and black cherry fruit with accents of barnyard, 4-ethylphenol Brettanomyces.
2008 AU BON CLIMAT 20 YEARS IN THE SHED WITH BOB AT BIEN NACIDO SANTA MARIA VALLEY PINOT NOIR- 200 cases made; I was fortunate to acquire a few cases of this stupendous wine and have been tracking it over the past few years; it is reaching stardom status now and has at least another 10-15 years to go before reaching its apogee; the fruit was selected from the best barrels from the Bien Nacido Vineyard in 08` and that is saying something as this vineyard is one of the best new world vineyards anywhere; the color is a vibrant dark purple and the nose boasts generous amounts of spicy ripe dark fruit which on the palate translates into red and black raspberry, blackberry and black cherry; it’s got nice balance, a great soft feel, lots of energy, depth and complexity and holds on at the end for a grand finish that seals the deal; it was our blind WOTN.
2017 DOMAINE ANNE et HERVE SIGAUT LES NOIROTS CHAMBOLE-MUSIGNY 1er Cru- there`s something going on with this wine as the nose backs you off with a hit of heat; there’s difficult to describe aromas and tastes that are indicative of a flawed wine and I/ we moved on.
2008 RHYS ALPINE VINEYARD SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS PINOT NOIR- now we’re back into the swing of things with a superlative wine getting it right from the nose through the tail hallmarked by its nice balance; the fruit profile had lots of flavors with red raspberry, blueberry, strawberry and red cherry most evident; pleasing accents of cola and spice accompany the fresh fruit that’s delivered in a soft and viscous textured medium; lovely wine.
2006 J. ROCHIOLI EAST BLOCK RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIR- here’s another winner following the Rhys with nice, mature red and dark fruit notes prevailing throughout assisted by a streak of spice that provides just the right accent; the taste had such a range from red raspberry to blackberry finishing up all the while its nice silky smooth texture aides in the sensory experience.
2003 PHILIPPE LIVERA DOMAINE des TILLEULS CHAPELLE-CHAMBERTIN GRAND CRU- this is at least the 3rd Pinot we’ve had that has a significant amount of pepper in it which probably comes from stem inclusion altho0ugh I don’t know that for a fact; the white pepper nicely blends in with a dollop of spice to compliment the very ripe and pleasant red cherry/ berry fruit; it has a soft mouthfeel, good balance and a degree of elegance and yet some obvious power as it grows and expends in a short time in the glass; one of my favs on the night and one definitely that will improve with more air time.
2003 GERARD RAPHET CHAMBERTIN- CLOS de BEZE GRAND CRU- hey, we have something going on with 3 dandies in a row and this blind format was tricking us as to whether it is new or old world Pinot, but make no mistake, these last 3 are from the historical source; the hallmark of this wine was its amazing soft, silky and smooth texture although it had lovely, perfectly spiced red and black cherry, blackberry and black raspberry; again, with such a short time in the glass, we didn’t have the luxury of allowing this to expand and express beyond the initial stages, but it was really good in its early phase and I was sorry to toss it out to move on.
2016 LONGORIA FE CIEGA VINEYARD STA. RITA HILLS PINOT NOIR- from good guy Rick Longoria who btw is selling his entire portfolio and retiring, this bottle showed only a little of the stuff these wines are renown for; following its dark ruby color came aromas of wild and wooly dark fruit with blackberry and accents of forest floor, cedar and spice; it was medium bodied with a middle of the road kind of expression and finished with more of the wild notes being the last thing on the palate; I`ve had many a fine wine from this producer so I know this was an anomaly.
2015 LAVOIX WINERY REFLECTOR JOHN SEBASTIANO VINEYARD STA. RITA HILLS PINOT NOIR- this is another label for Steve Clifton of Palmina fame and formerly of Brewer-Clifton; 100% Mount Eden clone; I’ve had a few of this release, first from barrel and later soon after bottling and I was impressed with its high energy and seriously extracted dark fruit profile; I did not recognize this wine and it did not show anywhere near what I have experienced; it seemed awkward and discombobulated from the nose on; I have to think a decant and having more time to hang out with it would have resulted in a much more approachable and pleasing wine. I’ll wait to open the few bottles I have for a year or more.
Once again, I’m humbled by the blind tasting format. We had a fabulous evening and many really fines wines to compliment the super tasty dishes that kept coming out of the kitchen.
Cheers,
Blake