TN: Pinot Noir: Burgundy vs. New World - Kutch Wins!

WINE TALK
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A bunch of us got together on Saturday for a lovely Pinot tasting. We enjoyed two nice Pinot starters (Sancerre and Blanc de Noirs) followed by 16 Pinots single blind. Mostly mid-level 1er Cru Burgs, village Burgs and some notable California and Oregon producers. After revealing every wine, we tasted through them again. The 07 Kutch really showed well and was probably WOTN by a nose. I will note, however, that I think some other wines may surpass it with time. The Domaine Serene, Forey and Aubert still have time to go.

PINOT NOIR: BURGUNDY VS. NEW WORLD - Our House (2033 Brandywine St., Philadelphia) (12/5/2009)

Interesting tasting. Some acclaimed California and Oregon Pinots took on some young drinkable mid-level Burgundies. No high end Grand Crus. We tried to present a nice sampling in terms of style and region for both Old World Burgundy and New World. There was no consensus as to whether Old or New is better – the good well made wines showed well, regardless of where they came from.

Single Blind
We tasted through each wine single blind and revealed after tasting. We then re-tasted everything. So each wine had about an hour of air time in between tastes.

  • 2007 Aubert Pinot Noir UV Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Dark core. Nutmeg and assorted spices on nose with a good amount of darker fruit. After tasting through the wines single blind, this was a disappointment. After exposure to air for about an hour, it really showed well and scored on the high end of my initial range. Nice acid on the palate. Licorice and well integrated oak. Initial bitterness gave way to nice balanced fruit. Good concentration and weight. A nip on the finish, which is holding this back. (91 pts.)
  • 2002 Domaine Michèle et Patrice Rion Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos des Argillières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
    A very well made wine. Clearly old world when tasted single blind on the initial go round. Funk on the nose, forest floor, mushrooms and spice. Really loamy. Well made on the palate. Great tannic structure with perfectly balanced acidity. Muted fruit. The finish is a bit watery. On the second go round, after we tasted blind through all the wines, this did not show as well due to the watery palate and finish. Very well made wine. (89 pts.)
  • 2006 Brogan Cellars Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
    This is a good wine. Well made. But the Brogan style may not be for everyone. It is intensely concentrated and syrupy sweet. Not a fruit bomb, though. Very nice nose. Mushroom, forest floor, spice and caramel. Dense and concentrated on the palate with a nice finish. On the second go-round, after this was revealed and all the wines had been tasted blind, this showed at the mid-range of where I initially scored it. The fruit is still a little muted, allowing the syrupy elements to dominate. It could use a bit more acid to balance it out. A good wine. (90 pts.)
  • 2005 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Ten - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
    Not sure I get the hype here. Darker color. Mint, spice and syrup on nose. Red fruit. But also some heat. Plum and good fruit on the palate. Not as concentrated as I would have expected. Too much heat on the finish. There are very nice components here but they did not work in harmony and it felt a little disjointed. On a second taste after this was revealed and tasted again, it did show any improvement. Will need to sample some other Sea Smoke bottles, but my initial impression is that they are not worth the price. (87 pts.)
  • 2004 Forey Père et Fils Morey St. Denis - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis
    A lovely muscular effort. Woody smoke, mint, toast and red fruit on nose. Very pleasant. Good concentrated fruit core on the palate balanced very well by clean acidity. Medium finish. Maybe a shade of the “green” streak every talks about with the 04s on the nose – the spearmint was a shade overwhelming at times. Very good. (92 pts.)
  • 2005 Simon Bize Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesses - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru
    New world style? When tasted blind, it was difficult to determine whether this was old world or new world. Deep lush red color. Bright cherry and raspberry with sweet spice and cola on nose. Very round palate with a nip of heat. Cola, raspberry. Delicious. Good finish although it is a bit watery. Crowd pleaser. (91 pts.)
  • 2007 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Summa Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Good wine. Got better with the second taste after the initial single blind taste. Dr. Pepper/Root Beer combo on nose. Raspberry. Palate was a little bitter, though. Spicy pepper with good concentration of fruit. A bit of bitterness clips the finish. This improved the second time around and should improve more with time in the cellar. (89 pts.)
  • 2002 Louis Latour Corton-Grancey - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
    After tasting this in May 2009, I was surprised when this was revealed. Spice and cherry liqueur on nose. Syrupy. Almost cloying giving way to good cherry and strawberry fruit but it turns a little bitter. Water finish with a bit of heat. A nice simple fruity offering that is probably worth the price I paid ($25ish) but not worth the CellarTracker average. (86 pts.)
  • 2007 Kutch Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Very very good. Probably my WOTN. Deep rich deep red color. Raspberry and blackberry on the nose. Really nice. Elements of spice and cola. Lush and delicious on the palate balanced out well by good acidity. Light on the palate, but in a good way. It is delicate. Very nice building finish. Promising. (93 pts.)
  • 2005 Domaine Fourrier Chambolle-Musigny - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
    This is nice but not exceptional. Mint, menthol, tree bark and tobacco on nose. Some raspberry and minerals. Shade bitter on the palate with the raspberry and forward minerality. A nice finish, maybe a shade watery. Fine offering but nothing to write home about. (86 pts.)
  • 2003 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Cohn - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
    Sweet spice and oak on the nose. Sweet fruit. I was a little surprised when this was revealed as the Kosta Browne. I was expecting more. Dense and concentrated on the palate but this did not have the type of complexity I like. No expression of terroir. Good finish. (88 pts.)
  • 2005 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Two Barns - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
    Still a lot of time on this one. Dark color. Cola, mocha and mint on the nose. Smooth and concentrated with good complexity. A touch sour. Good focused acidity. Good tannic structure. A little short on the finish. (92 pts.)
  • 2000 Joseph Drouhin Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru
    A mild disappointment. It has seen better days BUT it may yet recover and become a better wine. Hard to tell. As an off-vintage Grand Cru, it still is a pleasant wine. Forest floor and darker fruit on the nose. Loam, mushroom. Nice. Disjointed on the palate though. Raspberry, dense and acidity were not on the same page. Fair, clipped finish. (87 pts.)
  • 1995 Louis Jadot Vosne-Romanée - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée
    Score definitely affected by the company in which this was tasted (sue me!). Not a bad village wine on its own. In this company, it definitely was exposed. Surprisingly, though, it did not show its age to the extent that I anticipated it would (and as previous bottles have). Artificial nose. Brett? Good secondaries with the caramel and mocha. Syrupy. Too much so at times. Almost cloying, with little fruit. Moderate finish. (84 pts.)
  • 2005 Méo-Camuzet Frère et Sœurs Fixin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Fixin
    Very nice village offering that has hovered around the 89-91 range. Dark fruit, saline, smoked meat. Sweet raspberry. Focused and concentrated on the dark palate. Good structure and fine acidity. Nice fruity finish. Solid offering that brings the goods. (89 pts.)
  • 2007 Hermann J. Wiemer Pinot Noir - USA, New York, Finger Lakes
    Light weight fruit forward offering. Tart and a bit artificial. Strawberry and cherry. Water with a sour finish. Not bad for an every day quaffer. (85 pts.)


  • 1989 Bert Simon Serriger Herrenberg Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
    Concentrated. Lemon with good minerals and sweetness. Nice acidity keeps this humming. Really good. It’s not too sweet and is really balanced and focused. (91 pts.)
  • 2004 Inniskillin Vidal Sparkling Icewine - Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, Niagara Peninsula VQA
    Average. Certainly not worth the price tag. Initial note of green vegetables is a little unpleasant. Good sweetness. Citrus, tropical fruit and melon. The bubbles detract unfortunately. As a novelty, it is neat but does not work all that well. (85 pts.)

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