Our dinner group met recently and enjoyed some fine cuisine and cordial service from Santa Barbara`s Wine Cask restaurant. I misunderstood our wine theme to be white and red Burgundy, but it somehow it turned out to be more as pinot noir from California and Burgundy.
Thankfully, a couple of our group are big on brown bagging the theme wines which was done on this evening and served to challenge all of us as to whether it was CA or French, let alone any further ID info.
The wines:
NV ARISTON ASPASIE CARTE BLANCHE BRUT- I learned to trust those in the know at K&L Wine Merchants when it comes to champagne and this was highly recommended some months ago and I bought some and have loved it ever since; in fact, this bottle came from my 3rd shipment and I will continue to load up; this is a consistent treat and a great QPR at about $30; it has wonderful acidity and presents so nicely; it`s crisp and refreshing with lots of fine citrus notes especially lemon, lime and grapefruit which come on with vigor and provide a more serious round and complex stature albeit with lots of finesse.
NV CANARD-DUCHENE BRUT ROSE- heres another winner QPR for something under $40; it was served too warm until chilled later on after the first pourings, the initial go around provided more info about the fruit profile which was much more evidenced at this temp; its loaded with strawberry and raspberry with some red cherry coming in almost as an after thought; this has good acidity; it`s very pleasant and a very decent rose, one to consider for my house rose bubbly.
We now start with the blind tasting, all served in pairs. Although I added some personal edification, my tasting notes reflect my impressions prior to revealing the wines which was after all were wines were tasted.
2007 CALERA SELLECK VINEYARD MOUNT HARLAN PINOT NOIR- I`ve long been a fan of owner/ winemaker Josh Jensen and have had many of his wines from well over 3 decades ago; I got this wine as CA, but had no idea as to it coming from this appellation and producer; I actually had it as a Marcassin which was an educated guess since I knew who brought it and his propensity to bring those wines; the nose suggests some intense serious fruit forthcoming; the wine followed up with full on spicy, clove aided cranberry cherry which was delivered in a full body and stayed the course through a long finish; in retrospect, I did not expect a Calera to be this big and robust.
2005 BREWER CLIFTON MOUNT CARMEL VINEYARD SANTA RITA HILLS PINOT NOIR- I was not even close on this one although one in our group nailed it early on and held to his guns despite some banter; I did suspect this was CA or more to the point, not Burgundy; Ive had many of this wine and have not found it anywhere near what this one offered; the nose suggested stewed fruit and some minerals that was fortunately sprinkled with rose petals and cinnamon before moving on and into some OK black berry; Im thinking a storage issue.
Time out for a palate cleanser [not served blind] after a course of many appetizers:
2001 JOH. JOS. PRUM WEHLENER SONNENUHR RIESLING AUSLESE- the first hit was of coconut, then some minerality, pear and citrus, mostly lime coming in; it had a glycerin like texture; by mid palate, some grapefruit notes join in; it definitely changed, cleansed my palate.
2002 DUJAC CHARMES-CHAMBERTIN GRAND CRU- now we`re talking; this is working toward grand and exquisite and has to be Burgundy; it has complexity and depth with luscious flavors and a medium heavy body providing a taste/ feel good experience; somewhere in between all of the goodness came some heat that fortunately dissipated; I was amazed at the thickness of the texture and the intense, concentrated fruit which primarily was represented by a spicy cranberry and guessed it to be much younger; this is still evolving and no where near its ideal state of balance and peak performance.
2007 DALFONSO-CURRAN COOPER SELECT SANTA RITA HILLS PINOT NOIR- this is a big boy, intense pinot; theres an abundance and a myriad of fruit types from the get go; I got some rose petal aromas early on with spice, mint and oak infused fruit witch was on the sweet side of the red, blue and black fruit flavors; I`ve never had a Burg like this so it was a no brainer to say CA and I actually thought of Sea Smoke whose wines were made for many years by Kris Curran, now of this label; I believe this style is such that one either really likes it or not. I like Kris a lot.
2007 TYLER LA ENCANTADA SANTA RITA HILLS PINOT NOIR- this showed quite well and on the serious side and yet with some finesse; there`s lots of depth and layers of zesty strawberry, raspberry and red cherry notes topped by sprinkles of spice and cola; it had nice balance and a long finish to impress; I had no clue as to where this wine came from; I did like it and once revealed, I was happy to know it came from winemaker/ owner, Justin Willett, a local Santa Barbara guy, who started Tyler in 2005 and had previously sat in on some of our dinners with this group a few years ago.
2009 SPELL ESTATE WEIR VINEYARD YORKVILLE HIGHLANDS PINOT NOIR- a new producer to me although the wine is from a familiar vineyard; Ive had many a good Weir pinot made by Williams Selyem since 1998; this luscious wine is so smooth and creamy and what it carries is such a delight; theres a plethora of spicy red fruit that builds and builds until a long fitting finish; it`s quite lovely and pleasant throughout.
2009 DOMAINE MICHEL GAUNOUX POMMARD les GRANDS EPERNOTS 1ER CRU- this just feels like Burgundy; the nose is so inviting offering a perfume of floral and red fruit that continues on and by mid stream, it all comes together; there`s a touch of spice and sandalwood; this is so easy and soft and compelling; the texture is on the light to medium body side and the fruit profile stays a steady course without blowing out the palate.
2002 GERALD RAPHET CHARMES-CHAMBERTIN GRAND CRU- this is so different from the just tasted Gaunoux, that I picked it to be CA or something other than Burg; the nose was heavily inundated with oaky notes which made it even more suspect for CA; it`s seemingly young and vibrant, rich and complex with a fruit profile on the dark end of the spectrum; fortunately, the oak components began to fade and give way to the more eloquent attributes of the wine.
2010 GASTON & PIERRE RAVAUT ALOXE CORTON- I had a 05` version of this wine a few months ago and after not finding anymore of that one, I opted for a 6 pack of this vintage; this was the first bottle and unfortunately, it was corked.
2008 CALERA CENTRAL COAST PINOT NOIR- this was big and fruity with vanilla, wood spice and red and black fruit in a medium + body with very robust notes zinging the palate; I was surprised again to find this producer and especially this bottling show up and show well; what was even more amazing was the complexity for this blend which is not thought of as being nearly as serious as the vineyard designates.
2012 PENCE RANCH ESTATE SANTA BARBARA COUNTY PINOT NOIR- interestingly, this is the 2nd bottle of pinot Ive had from this producer ever and both within the past week, the first being back in Kansas during a family visit; Ive known about Pence previously since their fruit is sourced by my friend Drake Whitcraft for one of his vineyard designates under the Whitcraft label and Ive liked those wines; this one was also very good; it had good balance, lots of fruit forwardness, but still in rhythm; theres some red cherry with a hit of cola and talc and it glides over the palate with grace and ease; I did get this as CA.
2007 TYLER DIERBERG VINEYARD BLOCK FIVE SANTA MARIA VALLEY PINOT NOIR- this is another big guy wine with lots of rich and in your face notes; there an abundance of fruit sort of on the grapey side which to me means a non sweetened form of Welch`s grape juice; as big as this is, I guessed Sea Smoke again and as with the first time, I was incorrect, but certainly in the ballpark as to its super ripe style.
Our very competent wait staff graced us with a glass of wine at the end, as if the 9 of us had not already had enough and it was another test to ID source, location and producer, if in fact, I could discern anything more at this point. My stock answer is “does a cat have an ass?” which means yes. I do not believe anyone got it was local and some stated French.
2011 HILLIARD BRUCE SANTA RITA HILLS CHARDONNAY- Ive not kept up to date with the numerous new producers who have come on the scene in Santa Barbara county and this is one Id not heard of prior to this exposure; I liked what was in the glass; it was tasty, of medium body, had some depth and good length; there`s nice acidity and the toasted fruit profile goes beyond citrus to include some baked apple and pear; the texture is very soft and luscious and it worked all around.
Once again, this was such a joy to be in the company of wine passionate, like minded people who do this every 2 weeks throughout the year and for this group, it`s about their 15th year.
Cheers,
Blake
