TN: Some New world Pinot/Chard and some Old World Pinot/Chard in San Diego

WINE TALK
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SOME NEW WORLD PINOT/CHARD AND SOME OLD WORLD PINOT/CHARD IN SAN DIEGO - Farm House Cafe, San Diego (8/7/2009-8/8/2009)

First off, great restaurant choice by Steve Williams. Service was spot on, the price was very reasonable ($60 all in 3 courses), and of course the food was great. We did 3 flights of 3 chardonnay, 4 west coast pinots, and 3 burgundy pinots. Originally 4/4 for the pinots… but my Burg was corked and also I unfortunately did not have a note on Paul Lin’s wine… so you see 3/3/3 here.

I’m glad we went with new world Pinot’s first, the Burgundies went great with my Salmon =)
Chards

  • 2005 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet (8/8/2009)
    Still very tight and unyielding, needed awhile to open up… but once it did you get a powerful palate of bright citrus fruit with an almost in your face zest of fresh squeezed lemon mixed in with dry straw with copious amount of acidity.
  • 2004 Aubert Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (8/8/2009)
    Big but not out of place, prominent oak on the palate with a complex mixture of fat tropical fruit with a long finish of some slate and the previously mentioned fruit with a hint of zest.
  • 2006 Williams Selyem Chardonnay Hawk Hill - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (8/8/2009)
    A very powerful ripe fruit forward chardonnay made for those with a hearty constitution. Just loads and loads of goopy stone fruit and apple with a flabby palate that was a tad sweet on the finish. Definitely need to drink this with a nice chill on it or that sweetness becomes far too pronounced.

West Coast Pinot

  • 2002 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Seven Springs Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (8/8/2009)
    Damn this was tasty. A beautiful nose of soft dark fruit, pepper, mushroom, and fresh forest floor. A long lingering palate of beautiful red cherries and fresh earth with soft tannins on the back end. Everything was perfectly in balance and it just came together great.Can still go for a few years ez
  • 2002 Lorca Pinot Noir Garys’ Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (8/8/2009)
    Not overly complex, but at $14 I can’t complain. Stewed raspberries, cola, and bits of vanilla explode on the nose with a very ripe red fruit palate. Short on the finish with little acidity…
  • 2005 Kutch Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (8/8/2009)
    I’m not sure what it is with me and Kutch RR pinots but I just get a lot of heat on the nose and alcohol on the otherwise quite lush palate. There is some cola on the palate with spice/dark ripe fruit but the alcohol kinda does me in.

Burgundy Pinot

  • 1996 Dubreuil-Fontaine Corton-Bressandes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru (8/8/2009)
    Powerful nose of earth, violet, mushroom, and dark crushed black berries. A dense rich core of deep dark fruit that slowly opens up to dirt covered mushrooms and a dirty tannin finish that just layers that dirt and fruit over and over again as it dissipates from the palate. My WOTN.
  • 2004 Louis Latour Corton - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru (8/7/2009)
    A light nose of fresh violet and berries. A lean palate with smooth prominent fruit with long almost zesty acidity. A finish of fresh earth and berries that lingered in with the acid, there was a hint of asparagus creeping up on the finish but it never became a prominent factor on the palate. Not overly complex but stayed strong through the night and went great with the salmon I had.
  • 2003 Gérard Seguin Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin (8/8/2009)
    A nice soft nose of berries, fresh bread, and scented earth. Very generous fruit on the palate that’s a lil bit too ripe but get toned down a lil by the minerality and acidity that come at the end.

Posted from CellarTracker

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Thanks for the notes. Glad you liked the St Innocent. I like that wine a lot. Glad I still have 3. Might pop one next year.

Jason

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I was excited when I saw Mike Myers bring it in, the thing was banging

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Charlie,
Sounds like a nice line up. (What were the 4th/4th wines by the way?). I have some St. I from the mid 90s that I should put a move on. Judging from the WOTN and the descriptors of all the wines, you are a dirt lover!

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I had brought a 2002 Arnoux Vosne Romanee which was corked and Paul Lin brought is own Pinot, which I currently forget the name of… vineyard source Gap’s Crown 2007.

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Charlie,

Thanks for taking notes, I wasn’t nearly as diligent as you.

I didn’t care for the St. Innocent at all, found it to be very vegetal and sharply acidic.

The Kutch was fat, round and flabby, didn’t find anything pleasing about this either.

I enjoyed Paul’s wine, had a wonderful red cherry/cranberry flavor that was crisp and delicious.

The burgs were all good, the 96 Corton standing above the others. Love that dank burgundy nose!

The Puligny-Montrachet was my favorite Chardonnay, nice vein of citric acidity running through it. The Aubert was flat to me, all fruit with little structure.

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so weird, one side of the table loved the St. Innocent and the other side thought there was something off with it. I’d say palate differences if you didn’t include your opinion Brian, since I know you don’t hate the old world :wink:.

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Not shocked Brian didn’t like the St Innocent. They show nice balance and secondary notes without gobs of sweet fruit. I am shocked he didn’t think it was bretty or corked though.
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The Burgundy I brought was so corked even you wouldn’t think it was fine. neener

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Bummer. Arnoux and VR = good.

J

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Not sure if you remember but your quote after tasting that wine was “A very clear #1 of the day for me that stood head and shoulders above the crowd” … lifted from eBob. And that was next to some very nice wines.

Jason

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What a terrific evening, one that I think would even make OC offliners envious. Steve deserves a lot of credit for putting this together, and Lauren and I were happy to make the long drive to drink some terrific wines and break bread with some great people.

I did not take any notes, which is pretty unusual for me, but here are general some impressions of the wines.

2005 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet. White corn on the nose suggests to me that the oak has not yet integrated into the wine. Palate is lean yet brisk and finishes with some citrus-laced acidity.

2006 Williams Selyem Chardonnay Hawk Hill. Fruity and a little sweet. Frankly, I thought it was pleasant, if a bit simple, but could have used more acidity.

2004 Aubert Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard. In a really good spot right now. Concentrated yet precise notes of pineapple, green mango, and kiwi. Great acidity and a finish that just would not quit. An outstanding wine and my WOTF.

2005 Kutch Pinot Noir Russian River Valley. This wine screams RRV. Classic notes of cherries, crushed raspberries, and cola. I loved the flavor profile, but I felt that the wine was marred by the presence of heat on the finish.

2002 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Seven Springs Vineyard. The most “Burgundian” of the flight. Not a terrible wine, but I found the bok choy and celery notes a little offputting.

2007 Terra Novus Split Rock (Gap’s Crown) Vineyard. Smokey with a lot of savory dark fruits. Nice texture with zesty acidity. Even though this was my own wine, I have to say that I found this wine more balanced than the Kutch, whose flavor profile I actually preferred more. My WOTF by default.

2002 Lorca Pinot Noir Garys’ Vineyard. Ripe with some heat. Not a terrible wine for the price. But then again, not a wine I would actively seek out.

2003 Gérard Seguin Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes. Ripe, with some earthy cherry notes. Nothing to get too excited about.

2002 Domaine Robert Arnoux Vosne-Romanée. Horribly corked.

2004 Louis Latour Corton Grand Cru. Elegant notes of rose petals, cranberries, crushed minerals, and almond slivers. Balanced and floral on the palate. An outstanding wine and my WOTN.

1996 Dubreuil-Fontaine Corton Bressandes Grand Cru. Somehow managed to miss this wine.

1990 Vouvray Mollieux (did not note the producer). Simple but fairly please to drink. The nose is reminiscent of marzipan and honeycomb.

1997 Château Rieussec. Classic notes of dried apricots, honey, and candied walnuts. Tasty, but could use more acidity.

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Exactly what I’m saying. St Innocent is good but not in the huge fruit sort of way. So I’m teasing Brian because he tried to tell us one night that an awesome Dominus(I think 97?) was corked or bretty or something. It just wasn’t fat sweet fruit.
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That Dominus was horribly corked dude. I know the difference between Dominus funk and wet cardboard. I’ve had 10 or so bottles of 97 Dominus and none of them smelled like that one did…and I love Dominus…the TN’s from my last two bottles:

  • 1997 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley (2/20/2009)
    Decanted 30 minutes, drank over 1 hour. Incredibly uniform deep plum color, absolutely no bricking whatsoever. Barnyard, leather, cedar and dried cherries on the nose. Dark fruit, cassis, earth and cocoa flavors, silky smooth tannins and a 90 second finish. Just beautiful right now.
  • 1997 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley (12/31/2007)
    decanted 2 hours. Barnyard funk, like drinking wine with Mr. Ed. Outstanding on the palate, dark fruit and chocolate, great mouthfeel. Long finish, very fresh taste, with lots of life left.

[stirthepothal.gif] We are all [berserker.gif] !!!