TN: 2012 Belle Glos Pinot Noir Dairyman

John_Danza · February 9, 2015, 5:03am

2012 Belle Glos Pinot Noir Dairyman - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (2/7/2015)
From magnum. Deep dark red with a Pinot Noir nose. On the palate, one can tell it’s a pinot but it’s jammy and really extracted. Clearly a Pinot Noir made by people who usually make Cabernets. Interesting for what it is and a very good food wine with things like duck, short ribs, etc. The jury is still out on this one. (89 pts.)

G_Bienstock · February 9, 2015, 6:04am

I was in the LWS the other day and the employee was talking this bottle up to the guy standing next to me. I took in and moved on.

brigcampbell · February 9, 2015, 1:43pm

Sounds like the house style

John_Danza · February 9, 2015, 2:24pm

I didn’t realize until just recently that this is related to Caymus. It explains a lot.

mike_pobega · February 9, 2015, 2:28pm

But yet the table for this at Pinot Days was never less than 3 deep. Must be the wax…

Sc0tt_F_tzgerald · February 9, 2015, 3:12pm

If you like Jolly Ranchers, you’ll love Belle Glos!

brigcampbell · February 9, 2015, 4:06pm

Yeah, and I’m not knocking it, just noting that their other pinot bottlings sound similar. Big vanilla wafer, sweet fruit, creamy, etc.

Corey_N · February 9, 2015, 4:25pm

Also related to Meiomi (same family/winemaker), resembles Pinot Noir less than it does sweet tobacco. There’s nothing about that note that makes me want to revisit any wines made by the Wagner family. Even blind, I’ve found them uniformly dreadful.

John_Danza · February 9, 2015, 4:27pm

I’m with ya. I think it’s a good food wine. It worked well with the seared duck breast I had, and I can definitely see it working with braised short ribs or with prime steak. The folks I was with, who are non-wine geeks but like Pinot, really loved it.

PaulMills · February 9, 2015, 5:54pm

I like the Clark & Telephone ok with food, but not for just sipping. And it has to be big food to pair with the big taste of the wine. The Meomi is so jammy, you need to have a slice of bread nearby to spread it on.

Beau_Carufel · February 12, 2015, 3:27am

I wonder how much syrah was in it?

Dav_d_Parta_n · February 12, 2015, 5:08am

I recommend it for pouring over ice cream.

J_a_y_H_a_c_k · February 12, 2015, 11:07am

I was there, I liked it a lot, and I hate Jolly Ranchers. Made by the same crew that makes Meomi, which I also had that day and which I disliked. I did not know it was a Caymus brand until later.

ncostanzo1 · February 12, 2015, 7:20pm

I’ve noticed on the 'net and shops that they use the “from the makers of Caymus…” to up sell these wines a bit, maybe a lot. Still haven’t taken a flier on them over the years. There always sitting there waiting…

Sebastian_C · February 12, 2015, 10:35pm

Question for the OP: How is this a good food wine? Each to its own, but I do not see any note of acidity or tannic structure to support a rich protein like duck or short ribs. Personally I think the food would help tone down the wine but not complement it.

Edited for typos & fat fingers.

John_Danza · February 12, 2015, 11:32pm

Good question, as I usually don’t get too detailed on tannins and acid in my notes. I’ll try to do better with that. This wine has plenty of tannin and a fair amount of acidity, much more (or actually, different) than I’m used to in a pinot. The flavor profile of the wine worked with the flavor profile of the short rib, which had been wine braised. It went with the duck due to the tannin and fruit combination cutting into the fat of the duck skin, and the duck had been served over lentils that had been cooked using a liquid that included some red wine, which helped to bring that together.

The reason I said “different” above on the tannins and acid is because of the tie-in to making Cabernets. Beau’s question about how much Syrah was in the blend may have been tongue in cheek, but it’s a good one. If not for the distinctive Pinot nose and the pinot flavors that come through, this could have been a young Cab or Syrah.