On Saturday I attended the Clos Saron open house and when I get back to civilization I’ll post a lot of notes from the event, but I had to call out one wine I had at the event:
(Full disclosure: Gideon at Clos Saron helps me out with some regulatory aspects of making my own wine so in theory I am predisposed to liking him and his wines but I was an enormous fan long before I considered making wine)
2000 Clos Saron Pinot Noir 1.5 L - I was taken aback on how good this was. Until I tried this wine, the 2002 Joseph Swan Trenton Pinot was my favorite domestic Pinot Noir I had tried but this Clos Saron now has to be at the top of the pack. In short the aromatics were otherworldly. Amazing and kaleidoscopic aromas of truffles, autumnal forest floor elements and other indescribable wonders just leapt out of the glass and left me speechless. The flavors were less mature than the aromatics but still awesome. Like many of the clos saron wines the balance of all the elements was near perpect and the flavors were mouth coating and quite complex. The tannins are probably fully resolved at this point. A real wow wine. Until now Ive consumed most of my clos saron wines young but no longer!
Two wine I brought to the event:
2008 Jean-Jacques Morel St. Aubin Rouge - A wine from Fass Selections. This was pretty much pop and pour. The aromatics were very nice with cherry incense and violet floral notes and some funk complexity. The flavors were pretty much the same. Like a lot of lower end 2008s the mid palate was a touch thin but it was a pop and pour and didn’t get much chance to open up. Overall well worth the money and a good find by Fass. I loom forward to trying my second bottle with more air.
2007 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains - Also pop and pour. This was great. I know some people don’t like 2007s but Im consistently happy with what I open. This had a bit of reduction that blew off but the aromatics were quite exotic with red plum liquor and complex spice. The flavors were a nice mix savory beef broth elements and rich red plums. Nice mouth coating finish.
This is from dinner at Passionfish near Monterey:
NV Chartogne-Taillet, ‘Sainte Anne’ Champagne 375ML - This really hit the spot. It was crisp and bright with great toast notes. Zesty lemon flavors.
2012 Dirty and Rowdy Shake Ridge Ranch Mourvèdre - This had fantastic aromatics with spice and sweet herbs. The wine is rich and full yet light footed. Smooth and polished in a good way. If I had the tiniest quibble I would want a touch more acid but overall this is great. Even better on day two.
2012 Arnot-Roberts Zinfandel Kirschenmann Lodi - By the glass - This had subtle stem aromatic elements but also bright floral perfume. Flavor wise it was very red fruited and had a nice vibrant finish. One of the best zins Ive had.
Dinner with Paul Galli:
1999 Mt Eden Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains - This was slow oxed before dinner. The aromas are fully mature with cashews and other things I don’t have names for. This had good concentration with lemon/lime flavors and a long full finish. Very impressive domestic Chardonnay.
2009 Rhys Swan Terrace Pinot Nor - This was slow oxed before dinner. Paul felt it was too soft at this stage of its life. The aromas are of course highly focused on stems but there is some nice dark cherry in there too. There was red and dark fruit flavors with a nice richness. I thought a slight lack of intensity and vibrancy kept it from going from very good to great but clearly this has a very nice future. If I owned any Id probably let them sleep 10 years before I opened my next one.
2009 Clos Saron Pinot Noir - Some people have reported some microbial issues with this wine but so far Ive dodged bullets with the 7 Ive opened. This was my 8th and last bottle so I was a bit worried when we opened it at dinner and I got some super heavy funk. Luckily it was just reduction and blew off quickly. This was probably my best bottle so far with complex mineral and dark fruit aromas and layered complex fruit flavors. In retrospect I should have let these age longer but these were 100% no sulfur so I wanted to err on the side of caution.