Aside from some lovely champagnes, we had an interesting face off at Thanksgiving between a 2000 Cos d’Estournel and a 2012 Bergstrom Bergstrom Vineyard pinot noir, the latter from maggie, bought by my dad and held since release.
2000 Cos d’Estournel - This opens bright and fresh, medium bodied on the palate, with a fairly red plum and raspberry fruit profile, which transitions to a spicy, licorice tinged cigar-box finish. Tannins are really pretty well integrated, but this should improve with age as it develops more tertiary notes. While the fruit profile is there and present, this is not a big brooding wine and has nice acid. It is complete, and a very nice wine. It is just missing a bit of the pop I’d expect from a really great vintage of Cos. Lovely, but not super compelling. 92-93 ish for me.
2012 Bergstrom “Bergstrom Vineyard” pinot noir - from magnum - Nose on this is lovely, with blackberry and cranberry cocktail, potpourri, a strong anise note, and a hint of savory undercurrents. The palate is fresh, and this is distinctly Oregon in its lack of unctuousness (and I acknowledge that Bergstrom can be a little big at times), with a nice whole cluster vibe here. With time in glass, the anise seed dominates a bit less and the warm spices melds with the fruit and savory to give the wine a sense of completeness and integration that is a wonder to enjoy. This wine is drinking beautifully, and it was unanimous that on this day the Bergstrom beat the Cos. And to be honest, it wasn’t all that close. 95ish