Le Regard / The Look
The wine shows the depth of a much older vintage, striking density of dried red cherries and rose petals reminiscent of an aged Vosne-Romanée. Magical.
Le Nez / The Nose
Extreme Finesse!!! Dried rose petals and violets layered with bitter caramelized wild cherries, deep earth tones, truffles and refined scents of sous-bois (forest floor). As the wine evolves in the glass or decanter, the aromatics become more focused and lifted with wild cherry compote aromatics. Superbly elegant and earthy: a nose usually only attained with 8 to 10 years in the cellar.
Degustation / The Taste
The palate unveils an extraordinary silky texture. Barrique 9 delivers the tightest layers of dry red fruits, rose petals, truffles and earthiness. This is a wine of amazing elegance and finesse in texture. Pure concentration of wild red cherry compote and spiced raspberries spiked with bitter caramel, black pepper, and black tea must. The mid-palate is definitely earthy (oh, Vosne-Romanée here you come) laced with very musty sous-bois (forest floor), violets, dried rose petals, and soft herbal aromatics, all in a refined balance and harmony. Positively silky and exotic in texture, one that should be seen in a much older wine, the micro tannins give way to an infinite elegant finish. It will linger and linger and…this Pinot will age magnificently as the aromas will simply become more voluptuous with time.
Limited production wine in this offer. Other larger production offerings are in the $60-85 range I believe. I’ve had a few examples now. Can say quality is very high. Style is restrained and balanced. CA tribute to Burgundy. Comfort with pricing is an individual decision.
Every Soloist wine I have had has been an exceptional wine experience. The two pinots from 2012 were in the top 5 of my all time pinot pleasure. I am a fan of the 2001 Arcadian Sleepy Hollow style. The Soloist wines are low alcohol, elegant and complex. They are a rare treat. Yes the $100 is about $30 more than the other top pinot wines like Littorai and Rhys, but it a bit better for a bit more money. I think it sucks that the best almost always costs more.
So this is a single barrel offer of the 2011 Foret. I had the regular 2011 Foret earlier this year for fathers day. Here is my internal note from CT very nice on pnp, almost chambolle like as light and airy. picked up weight and darker fruit and spice with air. very good. leave the last one for 2 years.
While $85 for the Foret is a little high I would put in the same company as SVD Littorai and Rhys. I am going to get a few bottles of the 9 offering and do my best to give them some time in the cellar. The challenge with the 12’s is they are drinking so good now but I have to think they will improve a notch or 2 with some cellar time and reach the truly outstanding level( see my review of our visit in Oct)
We drank the 09 Out of the Shadows Syrah tonight with Lamb Chomps. The quality and the wine itself was very good. I agree a good bit of the line up is pricey but they really are a treat to drink. We should see the Narcisse Pinot available for general sale soon. If you want to try the Soliste line up I suggest a few bottles of the 12 Narcisse along with the 11 Chard and Sauv Blanc. These range from $45-55 and are priced well within their qpr range/
John- not sure I can comment on the Vosne comparison but Claude and Don have a serious love of old world wines and have captured a good bit of magic with their line up.
I voted with my wallet and am in. Would certainly prefer the wines to cost a little less but … Though I had been looking forward to more 12s and the 13s down the road (13s from barrel blew me away) I am interested to see what the team thought was so special about this one barrel of 11.
I have almost certainly had less experience with Pinot than others that have chimed in but for me these are often singular wines and I would say they make up at least 2 of my top 5 all time - and I have only been consuming them for less than 2 years.
They are definitely elegant and Burgundian in style, but not in a thin / clipped way that I sometimes have felt in other CA efforts in this style. These are deep, beautiful wines with amazing aromatics.
I would encourage those interested in the wines to listen to Claude’s interview on Grape Radio. Great insight into the mission he and Don have set for the winery. Also fun to hear about his background, certainly an engaging guy. I ended up buying a few from the recent offer afterwards despite my intent to pass on this one.
I’d encourage everyone to try the Narcisse if your looking for an insight into the style of wines but understand that this is a blend and not the top end monoclone wines. The interview really does give good insight into what Don and Claude are doing.
Soliste just released the 2012 Narcisse Pinot. This is a blend of their barrels that did not go into the MonoClone wines. I’ve had one of mine that was part of my purchase from our visit. Needs a few hours of air or decant. It is a great representation of their style. Excellent depth and balance and a solid value at $45.
20% whole stem and 30% new oak. Easily on par with Littorai Appellation or Ridge SCM wine. Reminded me of the Zepaltas La Cruz SVD. Nice dark cherry with layers of spicey plum.
