Virtual Tasting for Charity Week 1 - Empty My Wallet, Help Me Support Laura’s House (11/18 - 11/27)

Each year I typically kick off the series and do the first week. Like all the other years, I will do Pinot Noir (from anywhere, still and bubbly). But before I get to the ‘how’ below, just a couple of comments.

My charity is about ending domestic violence, through emergency shelter services, counseling, transitional housing and legal services. To learn more, you can click the following:

How do you participate? You open and post as many Pinot Noir tasting notes as you like, and I will pay $5 for every Pinot Noir TN that is posted here during the time period of 11/18 to 11/27. To go further, I will double the payment to $10 per TN if you post a photo of yourself with the wine. And, as an added bonus, my matching Wine Berserker donor that has supported me for so many years is locked again. So, the final amount raised will be matched, essentially doubling the value of every note posted. flirtysmile At the end of the period, I will count the notes and make a donation to Laura’s House.

Final comment. I’m looking for people to join in my donation, up to matching mine (which is usually around $1,000). Last year, we had my match donor, along with some of you matching on your own tasting notes. All of that is great and it all helps but I really want to give Laura’s house a hand this year so if you are able, and you feel a connection to the topic of defeating domestic violence and protecting those that are fleeing it, consider matching my donation at the end. I know there are people around here that do very well, and spend a lot o $$$ on this hobby. Consider please diverting a small portion of that hobby and match me, either publicly here or anonymously.

Post your TN’s here starting on Friday, November 18th (no bottles prior to the 18th, please).

Thank you, god bless everyone here who participates and happy holidays.

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Okay we’re up and running I’m taking sponsors for week 2 thru 6 so head over to the compendium to sign up. New software shows the link in Frank’s post at the bottom.

Or here! :cowboy_hat_face:

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Hey Cellartracker users, here’s a link to Pinot Noir in your cellar. Click on this below…

List of Pinot in your Cellartracker

(https://www.cellartracker.com/list.asp?ShowFilter=1&Table=List&Varietal=Pinot+Noir)

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Good morning everyone. My challenge starts tomorrow. Briefly, here are the key points if you want to be part of this:

  • I donate $5 for every note posted. if you post the note AND a photo of you with the wine, I donate $10. Posting a photo of the bottle is not worth $10–you need to be in the photo for me to double the value. Why a photo? Because I want to help humanize communication, our interactions in a time when it has been and continues to be contrary to treating each other with respect, kindness and seeing people as people, NOT as objects, screen names and political party.

  • My final donation will be DOUBLED, given the generosity of my matching WB donor. So every note posted is really worth 2X the value. Want to be another matching donor? Even at a smaller level? Do it. Post or DM me, and be part of doing some good here.

  • Must be Pinot Noir. Does Champagne count? Yes, but needs to be 100% BdN from Pinot Noir.

  • My charity is Laura’s House. It helps provide safety, shelter, counseling and legal services for those fleeing domestic violence. And if you think your TN doesn’t help, it will absolutely help. I know that the money we raise here will save someone’s from either having the crap beat out of them, their kids seeing this violence, and at worst, murdered. DV is real, and what you do here with me, it will save someone, a family from this horrible scenario. www.laurashouse.org

Thanks to those who join me here over the next 10 days. Let’s do some good.

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Off to the closet, I mean wine cellar, to find something for the grilled salmon. :fish:

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Out of half bottle. Really yummy. Good structure, full-bodied, darker fruit, and a bit of iron, maybe.

Bbqing chicken and zucchini + brown bread, mashed potatoes, stuff for dinner. This is going to match well.

Matching your donation here, Frank. :v:t2:

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Kyle and Brig, thank you for getting this started. I appreciate you taking the challenge to heart here.

Let’s head over Kyle’s house. The food and drink looks much better!

  • 2019 Domaine Guyon Gevrey-Chambertin Les Platières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin (11/18/2022)
    2 hour decant, dark fruited, bit of sour cherry, oak spice. Tannins still pretty strong, making the finish a little rough, but overall a nice wine from Guyon.

Posted from CellarTracker

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Lemme get my part of the show on the road, but first, a few comments:

  1. Frank, it’s 25 degrees here. I want Rhone, not Pinot! But some things are important.

  2. As last year, I’m in for matching both Frank and the wonderful mystery donor. Each photo will be me and the bottle. I cringe at that many pictures of my old mugly, but I’m in for $20 per.

  3. We went out to dinner. Eileen was treating and offered to buy me a glass of wine! The glass special was the only Pinot Noir and it was the most expensive glass on the list. I explained the situation and she was more than good with it. Does a Pinot btg count? I really hope so.


    I don’t think I’ve ever had an Oregon Pinot from Umpqua! I associate it with other grapes. This was in fact richer than I expected, a red cherry and raspberry inflected glass with some savory earthy notes. Rated 88.5 and a fine accompaniment to my chicken roulade.

  4. Back home, and I cracked 2013 Silver Mountain Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains. I bought half a dozen when they came up on last bottle, then re-upped (something I almost never do nowadays). I posted on this about six months ago, it’s tired, I’m late, you can search my previous notes. This is excellent and at peak, rated 92.

I’m in for forty bucks and I have just begun to write. At some point in the next week or so I’ll have to drink something else, but most of what I drink will be Pinot.

  1. I get it… 100% Pinot Noir only, I’ll do a bottle of champagne Blanc de Noirs, but I’ve got some white wine, 50/50 Chardonnay / Pinot Noir that would be sooo happy to be uncorked with the Toad in the Hole scheduled for tomorrow.

Let’s do this!

Dan Kravitz

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No picture of this one. We had a meeting with our builder (mid home Reno) and since they know we like wine they had a bottle of Belle Clos Clark and Telephone 2020 open and waiting for us. We like our builders a lot, and they are doing a great job, and it was a very thoughtful gesture. It isn’t what I would choose to drink at home but perfectly fine paired with slightly over budget oak flooring estimates. thats about all I can say about the wine but the builders are great! lol

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  • 2017 Cartograph Pinot Noir Estate - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (11/18/2022)
    pop and pour, dark cherry, some fog sweetness, wood spice, medium bodied, more tannic than expected. Think I’ll wait on my last bottle.

Posted from CellarTracker

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Marie Courtin Resonance (2018), 6/21 disgorgement. Zero dose (as if I’d open anything else on Frank’s thread).

A well known Champagne but my sole BdN in the cellar. Impressive how it has not the slightest hint of pink. My third bottle of this and the favorite one by far. Nice stone fruits on the nose. Glaring brightness has softened and there is a sweetness, odd as that sounds. Honeysuckle. A bit of salt. A certain pleasing bitterness. I feel that this could still improve with the more time in the bottle.

2019 Berthaut Gerbet Fixin Clos

Great, very dark fruited, like a mini Vosne

2020 Hudelot Noellat Bourgogne

WOW. This is crazy good, much better than the superb 19 atm with darker fruits but super depth.

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Frank,

Do mags count double?

Thanks.

Dan Kravitz

Guys thank you for the efforts here in Day 1. Already cranking up the total, for the benefit of Laura’s House.

Dan, thank you for the personal match, that will also help us. And yes, I’ll double for magnums.

  • NV Adrien Renoir Champagne Grand Cru Les 2 Terroirs - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (11/19/2022)
    disgorged March 2020 with 1 g/l dosage. Right in line with the last bottle, very savory, the Pinot characteristics come out in spades. Again, really reminds me of the Collin rose with its spice and red fruit.

Posted from CellarTracker

2013 Goodfellow Whistling Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir, 13.0% ABV –
A beautiful nose that reminds one of autumn, with cinnamon, spice, red fruits and herbs. Medium bodied with a little tannin at the back end, with good balance and a nice finish. Paired well with salmon and sun-dried tomato risotto. Since I had both the flu shot and the booster shot on Thursday, I only had a glass of this last night and we will try this again tonight.

And here is the picture of the beautiful bottle and my ugly mug for Laura’s House. I know there are a lot of wonderful charities that do fantastic work, but Laura’s House is one of my favorites, thanks to Frank and to this board. I contributed $50 this morning directly to Laura’s House through their website to go directly to Domestic Violence Support Services. Thank you to Frank and to all the contributors. Cheers!

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Ha! Tasting note day at the house!

2021 Kelley Fox Weber Vineyard: Rose petal fragrance that comes out of the glass with a vengeance. Seemingly light but intense fruit and spice fill the palate. Very spicy and has a sneaky tannin situation that belies the delicacy of the wine.

2021 Kelley Fox Carter Vineyard: This is a black currant express train! Sweet fancy Moses is this drinkable. Lush and pliant. Really enticing and fun. Lower tannin than the Weber but still has definition. Destined to be super popular.

2021 Kelley Fox Freedom Hill Vineyard: Smells and tastes like Freedom Hill but then again I probably have a tiny bit more experience with it than most. Nicely underripe blackberries and a a lot of salinity. Great tannin profile. Wicked stuff.

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