TWO PINOTS WITH PETER - (12/5/2014)
Peter Rosback of Sineann is back in town for a flying visit … so after dinner I decided to show him a top NZ pinot noir against a Fourrier 1er …
Peter liked both wines but, blind, had the Fourrier as New World and the Ata Rangi as the Burgundy. Like me, he was very impressed by the Ata Rangi but thought the Fourrier the better wine.
I was pleased that the Fourrier showed well as the Fourriers we have had together, to date, have been flawed …
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2009 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir - New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough
Colour deep red, a little darker than the Fourrier. A bouquet of bright red fruit - cherries, plums and red currants - spices, red roses and earth. The attack suggests some fruit sweetness, but this impression dissipates across the palate. Velvety mouthfeel with serious mid palate fruit weight and concentration. Lush and powerful. Good structure. Not a huge wine, quite elegant, with good acidity and persistence. Seamless with a detailed, complex flavour profile of ripe red and dark cherries, plums and spices, with savoury, earthy notes. Integrated, suave tannins. A young, relatively primary wine, after about an hour open it seemed to shut down a little. Hold for 3-5 years. (92 pts.) -
2006 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Combes aux Moines Vieille Vigne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Good deep bright colour. There was a little CO2 spritz on opening, which quickly dissipated. A beautiful lifted pure bouquet that is absolutely classic Fourrier old vines Gevrey. Aromas of small red berries, anise, game meats and violets, very high toned. There is a little spicy oak, in proportion, in the background and that chalky minerality I associate with the best Fourriers. Very clean and pure on the palate, as Peter commented. Beautiful precision and focus, the gorgeous acids provide excellent energy. The flavours are a melange of small red berries, game meats and some tartness, finishing long on chalk and minerals. Lovely texture and mouthfeel, with cultured, fine grained tannins. The wine blossomed in the glass but it is still a little clenched in mid palate, with the stuffing for many years’ cellaring. (94 pts.)
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