2015 Terrien Wines Pinot Noir
Super pure red fruits, generous but restrained, rich but elegant. Fantastic.
2016 Ken Brown Pinot Noir Envision
An affordable Pinot Blend from Ken Brown, this is amazing. Dark cherry and red berries on the nose, flavors of rich fruity plums and velvety ripe cherry. This wine is deep and smooth, a sensuous pleasure to drink. Ready now and enjoyable for at least 6 more years. I’ll be happy when their tasting room is open again.
2017 Sylvain Pataille Bourgogne Le Chapitre
Tasting note next, info from Becky Wasserman’s website below:
Purple flowery and fruity, meaty, and earthy aromas like a village Gevrey, what I would call sauvage, but lifted (natch John Morris) by the evident steminess and a distinct (but not lactic) overlayer of milk. The palate is immature with supple but clearly present tannins. In comparison to the straight Bourgogne, Le Chapitre is more backward and less playful in that the nose is darker and the freshness and energy that the Bourgogne shows on the palate is missing. I will see if it opens further overnight. I do prefer the berry-fruited lightness of the straight Bourgogne currently but this has potential.
Info from Becky Wasserman:
- Size: 1.05 ha (2.61 ac)
- Vine Age: 1/3 of vines planted each in 1950, 1980, 1990
- Terroir: Moderate to sleep slope, facing east. Light pink, gravelly (grèzes litées) soil. 270-300-meters elevation.
- Viticulture: Certified organic, biodynamic methods
- Vinification: 100% whole-cluster pressing, indigenous yeast fermentation. Aged for 18 months in barrel, low sulfur additions only at bottling.
- Etymology: This vineyard was once owned by the Chapter (Chapitre in French) of Autun Collegiate Church. The vines and the woods that lie above them were owned by the Archbishop of Autun, who originally planted the vines there.
- Site: Le Chapitre is 5 hectares (12.4 acres) with an elevation of 290 meters. It has a moderate to steep slope and faces east. When the Marsannay village appellation was created in 1987, the entire villages of Couchey and Marsannay, but only the southern part Chenôve was included. Because Le Chapitre lies north of the village, it was left out, yet, it is indisputably one of the greatest vineyards in this area. In his cellar, Sylvain pours it after his Clos du Roy. Though Le Chapitre may forever remain classified only as a Bourgogne, this does not reflect its rightful position in Burgundy’s hierarchy.
- Soil: The gravelly, calcium-rich soil is light in texture and light, pinkish brown in color.
- Geology: The majority of Le Chapitre sits on a thick layer of grèzes litées. This thick layer of unconsolidated limestone sits on top of the White Oolite limestone bedrock. Comblanchien limestone sits at the top of the slope above the vineyards and contributes to the slopewash.
Micheal, was that a berserkerday purchase? I ripped through 12 bottles of the 15 chardonnay from BD.
Excellent stuff.
No it was a recent offer he sent out, was about 18/btl
2016 Arterberry Maresh “Old Vines” Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, Oregon
A blend of Maresh and Weber vines averaging 42 years of old (old for Oregon). Started off very tight, but opened up with dark berries and paint thinner. Definite oak presence on the nose and palate with vanilla and toasted marshmellow. Clearly quality fruit, but the oak (i.e. winemaking) kept getting in the way. Retails for around $40. Meh. Kelley Fox’s Mirabai is the same blend of grapes for about $10 less without the oak obstructing the purity of the fruit. This wine probably has the potential to last longer and may end up being a better wine if the oak goes away. The oak did calm down in the glass over time, but there always seemed to be an extra ingredient. Not my style at this point.
Always happy to open Pinot Noir for a good cause!
2012 Barthod Chambolle-Musigny: opened yesterday and was greeted with a brick wall. Ok, a brick wall with one little wild strawberry growing from between the bricks. Came back to it today, and it has opened quite a bit. Aromas of lithe red fruits, fennel seeds, grandma’s medecine cabinet, over a stony earth component. Autumnal, hinting at fallen leaves and cranberries. Elegant, but still tightly wound.
Palate is more cranberry, bright linear fruit. Clean lines, acidity jumps in early and fine, well defined tannins pile on in the back.
Very enjoyable with thanksgiving leftovers, although I would definitely hold for another 3-5 years before opening another.
2012 Norman Hardie County Pinot Noir, Prince Edward County
Sour cherries and tart fruit with a phenolic and herbaceous finish. Wasn’t impressed and no better on day two. I was really hoping to like this.
1996 Bethel Heights Terroir Experiment Rex Hill Vineyard Dundee Hills
One of a series of three wines made for the 1998 IPNC. Showing really well with a bit of air. Mature, but by no means old.
The Peloton gear is packed for the winter.
2014 Rhys Home Vineyard Pinot Noir
On the nose, dark cherries, pomegranate, some pine needle, lavender, something saline, and a whiff of something that made me fear TCA.
Acidic wave carries red fruit flavors straight down the middle of the tongue. Some tannins are noticable on the finish. The fruit is muted and my tongue tingles in a way that increases my conviction that the wine is corked… or that the wine has folded in on itself.
Because I used a Coravin to pour the glass, I don’t have access to the cork just yet. I’ll pour another glass tomorrow.
2010 Domaine Lafouge, Auxey-Duresses “Climat du Val”
Very tight on opening, mineral and lean, started to show pretty red fruit as the night wore on, but still wound up. Day two had softened just a bit, though still making it clear that ten years is too young. Still, enjoyable red fruit and brushy spice, pleasant and good company, if not particularly profound at this stage.
Moderator intervention
I cleaned up the incorrect thread posting and merged all the posts back here.
Hopefully didn’t screw it up more.
Getting in under the wire.
2011 Kistler PN Kistler Vineyard (en magum). Pretty much what I expected: Voluptuous, ripe, good red fruit. Not much complexity. Not really my kind of wine. But, everyone (all four of us) seemed to enjoy it. I opened it for Turkey Day in honor of my dad who loved this winery. Here’s to you, Papa.
Here we are at four pages and it is wonderful to see so many notes and photos.
Great work.
Frank - Thanks for your efforts and inspiration.
Brig - Thank you too for your work in managing the Charity week.
I had many Pinot Noir wines the last week but was delinquent in posting. So here they are now - in before the deadline.
2018 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (11/27/2020)
Twist and pour and tasted towards the end of the evening, after dinner and the wines that accompanied dinner.
Wanted something that had a bright, rich fruit profile to delight the palate.
This delivered.
Purple color.
Nice nose of red and black fruits. Wonderful richness of fruits with a citrus note that carries the sweetness of the fruit.
Easy to drink and enjoy. Perhaps lacking a bit of depth and nuance but I still find much to enjoy in the glass.
2017 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (11/25/2020)
Pop and pour. Tasted over three days. Initially opened doing kitchen prep the day before thanksgiving; then tasted while cooking and cleaning after dinner. Finished the remainder the following day.
Nice ruby color.
Wonderful nose of red fruits, touch of woodsmoke, and brown spice notes (think cinnamon and mace).
Good fruit on the intro with red and black cherries and red berries. Nice acidity gives the wine lift. Slight touch of cranberry/tartness on the finish.
An enjoyable wine.
2013 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir Savoy Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (11/26/2020)
Opened, poured into a decanter, and served with Thanksgiving dinner (pork ribs with cheesy polenta, in case you were wondering). Followed for about 2 hours.
Ruby color.
Nose is not offering much - some red berries, perhaps.
Sour and tart. Overly acidic and not much fruit showing here. Citrus notes and perhaps a touch of unripe berries.
Disappointing.
I have enjoyed many wines from the Savoy Vineyard (Radio-Coteau, Kutch, Failla and Littorai, as I recall). This was just a bad bottle or a bad vintage.
2016 Ceritas Pinot Noir Hacienda Secoya Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (11/28/2020)
Opened, poured into a decanter, and initially tasted with food (phat si ew, in case you were wondering). Then followed for about 4 hours.
Bright ruby color.
Nose offers sour red cherries and hint of spice.
Wonderful fresh flavors with fruit that ranges from fresh blackberries to sour cherries. Touch of cranberry for that bright tartness that keeps this so lively.
Outstanding. Absolutely delicious.
I suppose with more time in the bottle, the fruit profile may become a bit more focused and linear. But why wait. The depth of flavor here is fantastic.
Here is a photo for the extra $5.
I want to thank everyone for making this a tremendous week. We did very well, and I wanted to give you a summary. Based on all the notes, as well as the matching donations from several of you, including mine which is against all the notes (and doubled by my anonymous Berserker), we raised just over $3,500 for Laura’s House. That is a huge amount of support that will go to them in what has been their most challenging year because of COVID. Like many charities this year, they were not able to host their large annual fundraiser, which is a live event held at a local large hotel, with a band, food, silent auction–everything you would expect. So, raising funds as we did this week helps to offset that kind of impact.
Thanks to Brig for helping to administer the threads and to Todd/WB for hosting this annual effort we make to do some good.
In this time of year, in a year, in a social culture where people are divided, polarized, out of work, perhaps losing people they love and/ore unable to see those people, for just a week in time, we came together here to put all of that aside for a little while and just have some fun. Please, remember that kindness, respect, setting the example is something each of us can do. God bless and thank you again for making this a great week for Laura’s House.
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WOW! I can’t say how thankful all of us at Laura’s House are for your kindness and financial support. On behalf of all the clients who would want to thank you themselves I say a big heartfelt THANK YOU!! We appreciate you more than you know and you are making a huge and positive difference for these families xxx
Aw crap…been so busy lately I didn’t even think to check for these threads this year!
Plenty of time to play, there are virtual tastings running through the rest of the year. Here’s the list.
Gina,
Welcome to the forum. It’s nice to have another female joining into the forums. Hopefully you’ll share more of your thoughts about Champagnes in the future as well.
Scant mentions of this small producer on WB, but the 2018 Matt Taylor Wines ‘Cuvee Kaela’ Pinot Noir [West Sonoma Coast] is an interesting, distinctive wine although too AFWE for my palate. It’s 11.59% abv which might be one of the lower numbers I can recall for a red since the 1970 l’Evangile, which was also in the 11 handles. On the nose there is strawberry, earth, and black tea. The fruit is lean, taut, and on the cut strawberry side. I consumed this over a couple of days - and enjoyed it - but would not reload on this cloudy red. I admire the passion of the maker, but I’m not the audience for this sea side, hand picked, hand sorted pinot. My prosaic tastes run more toward the plumper RRV examples; if forced to grade this I’d be lower than the professional judges, maybe a B tops. Conventional cork, wax capped.
That this is even available at retail now is witness to the struggles smaller/newer vintners face.