Winecast » Pinot Noir

Quick Picks 7: Faiveley Mercurey 2003

Tim — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 02:56:35 +0000

Another Wine Blogging Wednesday and this time I’m podcasting for the first time since WBW 23. Neil from Brooklynguyâ€™s Wine and Food Blog came up with a great theme this month: ‘Silver’ Burgundy. Instead of investing in a CÃ´te d’Or (’gold coast’) wine, we are drinking affordable Burgundy from the CÃ´te Chalonnaise and the MÃ¢connais.

Since I favor red wines this time of year, I selected a village wine from Mercurey made by the well known Faiveley family. Listen to the podcast for more details but here are my tasting notes:

J. Faiveley, Domaine de la Croix Jacquelet, Mercurey 2003 ($20) - Deep ruby color with aromas of dark cherry, fennel and sage. Rich black cherry and raspberry fruit with a touch of earth finishing with firm tannins and good acidity. The bold fruit balances the tannins so I expect this wine to improve with a year or two more in the cellar. Alternatively, you could give it a couple hours in the decanter to open up before enjoying. A very good value in Pinot Noir.

13% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 88
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Siduri, Pinot Noir, “Garys’ Vineyard” 2004

Tim — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 03:26:10 +0000

This wine was tasted the same night as Brian Lorings’ ‘05 Garys’ Pinot and I compared them a couple times to make sure I had judged this match as fairly as possible (YMMV). A lot of others have weighed in on this wine but I have to say that I’m somewhat disappointed with my first taste of Siduri Pinot. Don’t get me wrong, this is great juice, but my expectations were a bit higher. Perhaps it was the condition of the bottle here so I will revisit this wine and post another note in the future.

Siduri Wines, Pinot Noir, “Garys’ Vineyard” 2004 - ($49) Ruby in color with aromas of black cherry, forest floor and cinnamon. In the mouth, huge black cherry and blackberry flavors finish long, but hot, with supple tannins. Delicious, but marred by a bit too much alcohol from my perspective.

14.5% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 89

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Loring Wine Company, Pinot Noir, “Garys’ Vineyard” 2005

Tim — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 21:28:08 +0000

Brian Loring has developed a cult following with wine lovers for his vineyard designated Pinot Noir. After starting making wines on a shoestring budget in a rented warehouse while working a day job, Loring has grown to produce a series of Pinot’s in small quantities. Although he still works his day job as a software engineer, I’d be surprised if he didn’t have a winery and reach his goal of making 3,000 cases within a year or two.

Garys’ Vineyard, where the fruit was grown for this wine, is located in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA near Monterey, California. Owned by Gary Franscioni and Gary Pisoni, their 50 acres are planted to Pinot Noir and Syrah. Almost 20 wineries buy fruit from the Garys’ including Pinot superstars Siduri and Kosta Browne.

I’ve never had the chance to taste any Loring Pinot’s until this past holiday season when this bottle was opened. I’m very much looking forward to tasting more as this first wine is right up my alley; massive fruit, good acidity and an elegance not often found in California Pinot Noir.

Loring Wine Company, Pinot Noir, “Garys’ Vineyard”, Santa Lucia Highlands 2005 ($48) - Bright ruby in color with a very aromatic nose of black cherry, raspberry and cinnamon. Forward cherry fruit flavors and good acidity with some spice and nicely integrated tannins. A delicious, elegant Pinot that should continue to please for the next couple of years. If you are lucky enough to see some for sale; buy it.

13.8 ABV
Stelvin closure
Score: 93

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W.H. Smith Wines, Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast 2005

Tim — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 22:17:22 +0000

W.H. Smith is a brand that has not been on my radar until fairly recently. A label created in 1992 exclusively for Pinot Noir it is owned by Bill and Joan Smith of La Jota Vineyard fame. Planting over 350 acres of Pinot Noir in the up and coming Sonoma Coast AVA, the Smith’s now produce two vineyard designate wines and this blend.

W.H. Smith Wines, Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast 2005 ($30) - Bright ruby in color with smoky cherry, cinnamon and clove aromas. In the mouth there is rich raspberry, black cherry and spice flavors finishing long with great balance and nice acidity. The way California Pinot should be.

Natural cork closure
Score: 91

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Mark West, Pinot Noir 2005

Tim — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 23:33:11 +0000

The single most popular post here is for my review of Mark West Pinot Noir 2004. Google “Mark West Pinot Noir” and the second result, after the winery website, is to that note. Each month, the Google referrals in my logs are dominated with “Mark West” mentions. So it was with great anticipation that I tasted the 2005 vintage of this wine.

Before I continue, an important note. Look for “Appellation California” right below the Pinot Noir on the label. The winery produces another bottling called “Vin De Corse” made from wines produced on the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea. That’s a long way from California and from what I liked in the previous vintage. I tried Vin De Corse at a tasting earlier this year and didn’t think it is in the same league as their California wines but other wine bloggers seemed to like it.

Mark West is a nÃƒÂ©gociant label buying grapes and wines on the bulk market. In the winery’s colorful data sheet, they detail that 66% of the grapes come from the Central Coast, 22% from Sonoma Coast, 4% from Napa, 3% from Mendocino and 5% from “other” (presumably California’s un-sexy Central Valley). The blend is a bit of a shock for Pinot purists being only 85% Pinot Noir (the minimum amount to be called by that varietal in California), 13% Syrah and 2% Chardonnay. I applaud the winery for being so forthcoming with these details, as most other $10 and under Pinot Noir is also spiked with Syrah but few tell the tale. Last year I used a vague 20 point system for the review of the 2004 vintage, but my rating on the 100 point scale would have been an 87 or 88.

Mark West Winery, Pinot Noir, California 2005 ($10) - Ruby in color with a purple rim. Aromas of black cherry, raspberry and sage. In the mouth, smooth raspberry and wild cherry fruit and spice flavors finish with silky tannins. Not as impressive as last year’s vintage but still a nice value. Given the “Sideways effect” on Pinot supplies in California, I’m pleased they were able to pull this off at this price.

13.8% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 84

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The Cellar Rat Announces Pinot 2.0 Project

Tim — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 23:21:26 +0000

Fellow wine blogger and podcaster Alan Baker, better known in these parts as The Cellar Rat, has just announced a collaboration with CrushPad to make Pinot Noir from Anderson ValleyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s noted Wetzel Vineyard. Alan calls this project “Pinot 2.0″. Last year he made a Syrah (1.0?) from SonomaÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Bradford Mountain thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s still aging in the barrel at Peterson Winery. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve tasted this Syrah a couple times this year and can attest that it will be a very interesting and personal expression of the kind of wine Alan (and I) like to drink. All this bodes well for this year’s Pinot and he will be producing video podcasts along the way (click here to subscribe). HereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the intro teaser video podcast:

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you are like me and want to get “hands on” (in an internet kind of way) with the making of this wine, join the Rat Pack group at CrushPad. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll keep you posted here on AlanÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s journey… if all works out according to plan, next vintage will be the first Winecast crush

Acacia Winery, Pinot Noir, Field Blend 2002

Tim — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 23:40:45 +0000

Acacia Winery, Pinot Noir, Field Blend, Estate Vineyard, Carneros 2002 ($45)

I’ve tasted several Acacia Pinots over the past couple of years and generally liked them. As might be deduced by the reader, I was in their wine club for six or seven shipments and have several more bottles in the cellar to drink. Their “Field Blend” is made from four clones of Pinot Noir planted together providing an expression of the terroir of their estate vineyard in the Carneros AVA. These blends are amongst my favorite in Acacia’s line up because they lay on the fruit, with enough Pinot funk to keep it interesting and finish off with sweet French oak.

The wine is a healthy ruby color with a salmon note on the rim. The aroma profile is of black cherry, forest floor and spice but it seems like the fruit is starting to recede more into the background than I remember my last bottle. In the mouth there is boysenberry and black cherry fruit with spice and vanilla from the oak. The tannins are still moderately firm and the finish is fairly long, but I like their 2003 bottling just a bit better. This is still a solid Pinot for current drinking that I would suggest you drink up given the synthetic cork closure.

13.9% ABV
Synthetic cork (very easily removed)
Score: 89

Acacia Winery, Pinot Noir, Winery Lake Vineyard 2004

Tim — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 23:58:06 +0000

Acacia Winery, Pinot Noir, Winery Lake Vineyard, Carneros 2004 ($30)

The Winery Lake Vineyard was one of the original fruit sources for Acacia Pinot Noir when they started in the late 1970’s. First planed by noted grower Rene di Rosa in the 1960’s, it was the the basis for vineyard-designated wines from several producers until the vineyard was sold to Sterling in the mid-1980’s. Acacia has secured fruit to make this single vineyard selection for the 2004 vintage and, hopefully, forward. Replanted recently to Dijon clone Pinot Noir, the vineyard has rocky, volcanic soil and, of course, a lake.

The wine is dark ruby in color with aromas of raspberry, black cherry and spices. Rich and silky in the mouth, it delivers raspberry and plum fruit, a touch of Pinot funk, cinnamon and some fine, but noticeable (for Pinot), tannins. A little hot on the finish but overall a very nicely done Carneros Pinot in a slightly bigger style than other Acacia bottlings. Since it’s a little tight right now, I might leave this one in the cellar for a couple more years to smooth out some more.

14.2% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 9/10

Note: this wine seems to be in short supply from the web searches I’ve done. According to the Acacia website, it is currently sold out at the winery.

Three Thieves, Pinot Noir 2004

Tim — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 20:47:40 +0000

Three Thieves, Pinot Noir, “Circle K Ranch”, California 2004 ($10 / 1 liter) - Ruby in color with subtle aromas of black raspberry and spices. Soft raspberry and cherry flavors with light tannins. Not a lot of varietal character, but at this price you can’t really complain too much. Great value, which is more common than not with this producer. Score: 8/10

Winecast 62 - Willamette Valley Vineyards

Tim — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 03:23:34 +0000

Today’s podcast is another vintner profile interviewing Willamette Valley Vineyards founder and President Jim Bernau. I also play a podcast promo and talk about a new poll on Winecast.

Show Notes:
00:21 - Welcome, show theme and sponsor message
03:07 - Interview with Jim Bernau
19:44 - Tasting Notes
19:58 - Willamette Valley Vineyards, Riesling 2005 ($12)
20:56 - Willamette Valley Vineyards, Pinot Gris 2005 ($16) +
21:15 - Willamette Valley Vineyards, Pinot Noir, “Whole Cluster” 2005 ($18)
21:45 - Willamette Valley Vineyards, Pinot Noir, “Vintage Selection” 2003 ($22)
22:06 - Willamette Valley Vineyards, Pinot Noir, “Estate” 2003 ($40) *
23:04 - Willamette Valley Vineyards, Pinot Noir, “Freedom Hill” 2002 (~$45)
23:38 - Willamette Valley Vineyards, Frizzante 2002 ($12/half bottle)
24:19 - Best of Tasting *
24:55 - Best Value +
25:25 - The Frank Truth promo
27:15 - New poll on the blog
29:02 - Contact details
29:31 - Next show theme

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Winecast 60 - Fabulous Favorites Festival

Tim — Sat, 20 May 2006 03:49:13 +0000

This month, Wine Blogging Wednesday is on a Friday because founder Lenn Thompson of the Lenndevours wine blog has teamed up with Alberto from Il Forno a premier food blog and founder of Is My Blog Burning. So for IMBB 26 and WBW 21 the rules are fairly simple. For us wine bloggers, pick a bottle from your cellar and find a recipe to pair with it; for food bloggers itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the other way round choosing one of their favorite recipes and then finding a wine.

So when I read about this theme last month, I immediately thought of a food podcaster, Anne Bramley of Eat Feed, to give me some recipe ideas for the wine I chose. I spoke with Anne earlier today and she gave me several recipe ideas that might match with the White Rose Estate, Pinot Noir I selected from my cellar.

After considering all of AnneÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s suggestions, I picked the pork with apples and brandy cream we spoke about and cooked it for dinner this evening. Anne suggested a couple other recipes that can be found online here:

- Pork Chops with Quinoa Pilaf and Dried Fruit
- Pork Tenderloin with Gorgonzola and Figs

Here are my tasting notes for the wine and match with the meal. Much more detail is available on the podcast:

White Rose Estate, Pinot Noir, White Rose Estate Vineyard 2002 ($65/gift from Jay Selman from Grape Radio) - Ruby in color with powerful aromas of earth, black cherry and spice. Some people might be put off by the gamy, earthiness of the aromas of this wine, but I rather like this aspect. In the mouth its concentrated raspberry, black cherry and a little earth, finishing with supple tannins and good acidity to match with food. I really found this wine to be delicious, but I can see why others might not like this style at all. Score: 9/10

As for the match with the dish, I thought that the shallot cream sauce and the mild gaminess of the pork tenderloin matched almost perfectly with this wine, really enhancing the fruit. But when tasted with the sautÃƒÂ©ed apples, it really didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t work too well. I think the next time I make this dish IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll omit the apples or at least reduce the quantity down to a single apple.

Thanks for Alberto and Lenn for a great idea to merge the two leading wine and food blogging events and to Anne Bramley for some great recipe ideas. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll see you next month for WBW 22, where I most likely will not have to cook

Show Notes:

00:22 - Welcome and show theme
01:12 - Conversation with Anne Bramley of Eat Feed
15:03 - Selected recipe
16:58 - White Rose Estate, Pinot Noir, White Rose Estate Vineyard 2002 ($65)
18:14 - Wine and food match
20:12 - Contact Details
20:31 - Next Show Theme

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Winecast 57 - Sonoma’s Russian River Valley

Tim — Mon, 08 May 2006 01:42:16 +0000

Today’s podcast is a return after more than a month away from the mic with a look at Sonoma’s Russian River Valley AVA.

Show Notes:
00:22 - Welcome
01:01 - Russian River Valley Background
02:20 - Tasting Notes
02:40 - Papapietro Perry Winery, Pinot Noir, Elsbree Vineyards 2004 ($45)
03:06 - Papapietro Perry Winery, Pinot Noir, Leras Family Vineyards 2003 ($45) *
03:41 - De La Montanya Winery, Pinot Noir, Tina’s Vineyard 2004 ($38)
04:23 - De La Montanya Winery, Pinot Noir, Christine’s Vineyard 2004 ($38)
04:51 - De La Montanya Winery, Syrah, Estate Vineyard 2004 ($30)
05:05 - De La Montanya Winery, Pin-up Series, “Cabaret - Series II”, Cabernet / Zinfandel / Syrah 2003 ($38)
05:59 - Felda Creek, “Pinot Squared” 2004 ($32)
06:36 - Moshin Vineyards, Pinot Noir, Barrel Select 2003 ($22) +
07:18 - Moshin Vineyards, Pinot Noir, Lot 4, 2003 ($35)
07:37 - Davis Bynum, Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley 2002 ($28)
08:28 - Davis Bynum, Pinot Noir, Lindleys Knoll Vineyard 2002 ($55)
08:46 - Davis Bynum, Pinot Noir, “Le Pinot”, Rochioli Vineyard 2002 ($80)
09:23 - Davis Bynum, Cabernet Sauvignon, Laureles Estate Vineyard 1999 ($50)
09:48 - J Vineyards, J Vintage Brut 2000 ($30)
10:24 - J Vineyards, J Chardonnay, Russian River Valley 2003 ($32)
10:47 - J Vineyards, J Pinot Noir, Nicole’s Vineyard 1997 ($40)
11:12 - J Vineyards, J Pinot Noir, Nicole’s Vineyard 1998 ($40)
11:30 - Best of Tasting *
11:43 - Best Value +
12:05 - Full Disclosure
12:44 - Contact Details
13:13 - Next Show Theme

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Domaine du Chateau de Marsannay, Bourgogne Rouge 2001

Tim — Thu, 04 May 2006 01:19:24 +0000

Domaine du Chateau de Marsannay, Bourgogne Rouge, “Estate Bottled” 2001 Ã¢â‚¬â€œ A recent gift from my parents trip to Burgundy, this one doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t seem to be available in the U.S. or online; I canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t imagine this to be more than a few Euro a bottle.

Light ruby in color with aromas of black cherry, wet earth and cloves. Fading black cherry fruit, spice and earth flavors with a simple, short finish. A fairly decent everyday Burgundy that was probably better a year or two ago when it had more fruit. Score: 7.5/10

Undurraga, Pinot Noir 2005

Tim — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 00:00:17 +0000

I was over at Solo Vino this morning picking up some wines for WBW 20 and Chuck cracked open a just received case of Chilean Pinot Noir for me to try. I’ve had some interesting Pinots from their selection in the past, so I was keen to give this one a try tonight:

Undurraga, Pinot Noir, D.O. Central Valley, Chile 2005 ($9/sample) - Clear, light ruby in color with aromas of wild cherry and watermelon. Tart bing cherry and strawberry fruit flavors with light tannins and a nice acidic edge on the finish. A good everyday red in a light and fruity style that is more reminiscent of Gamay Noir than Pinot. Score: 8/10

Thanks, Chuck; another good call!

MacRostie Winery, “Keltie Brook”, Pinot Noir 2002

Tim — Sun, 22 Jan 2006 20:27:09 +0000

MacRostie Winery, “Keltie Brook”, Pinot Noir, Carneros 2002 ($15) - Garnet color with strong black cherry, raspberry and vanilla aromas. Round raspberry and cranberry fruit flavors finishing with a bit of spice, earth and toasty oak. A very good Pinot for the money. Score 8.5/10

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tim — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 00:07:23 +0000

I hope everyone here in the U.S. had a great Thanksgiving; I thought I would share my tasting notes from our feast:

Mommessin, Beaujolais Nouveau 2005 ($10) - Ruby in color with a purple rim, black cherry and strawberry aromas; strawberry and cherry fruit flavors with soft tannins and good acidity. A very good nouveau that portends an excellent Beaujolais vintage. Enjoy until the end of the year. Score: 8.5/10

Ponzi, Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon 2002 ($30) - Ruby color with powerful raspberry and plum aromas; raspberry and black cherry fruit flavors with a nice cinnamon note on the finish. Excellent concentration of fruit and pleasing acidity. Delicious now and will continue to please for another year or two. Score: 9/10

Now back to my turkey coma and the rest of the 4th quarter of the Cowboys game - Go Broncos!

Thanksgiving Wine

Tim — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 19:07:05 +0000

Only 24 hours or so before our annual harvest feast day here in the U.S. and the wine blogosphere is buzzing with a few picks for the best wine matches to pair with the traditional turkey dinner (even with Alder sitting this one out). My choice is Pinot Noir and I have already given you a couple of Pinot’s to pick up if you have a large group to feed, but I think I will choose a Ponzi Pinot Noir 2002 from Oregon’s Willamette Valley I first reviewed in Winecast 8, with White Rose Estate Pinot Noir 2002 as my back-up bottle (although I might be tempted to call an audible and drink this one first!). Another tradition we have is to start off the festivities with a glass of Beaujolais nouveau. This year I have 4 of them to taste for an upcoming podcast, but probably will pull the dependable Louis Tete bottling, like my podcast buddy Alan, a.k.a. The Cellar Rat, already has.

If you must have a white wine, I suggest either an oaked Chardonnay or a crisp, fruity German Riesling from the excellent 2003 vintage. Look for “Kabinett” on the label and you will be good to go. Which ever wine you choose, make sure you have a backup bottle should cork taint raise its ugly head or your celebration requires further replenishment

Quick Picks 1

Tim — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 22:49:06 +0000

A new weekly side podcast highlighting some of the wines I have recently tasted and think you would enjoy. In this first installment I review two California Pinot Noirs for under $10 a bottle:

- Mark West, Pinot Noir, Central Coast 2004 ($8)
- HRM Rex-Goliath, Ã¢â‚¬Å“Giant 47 Pound RoosterÃ¢â‚¬Â?, Pinot Noir, California NV ($8.50)

Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639)
Copyright 2005 Tim Elliott. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

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Winecast 43 - Burgundy

Tim — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 17:22:36 +0000

Today’s show is my first podcast on France’s Burgundy region, I share an audio comment and play a song sent in by a podsafe artist relating to wine.

Show Notes:
0:22 - Welcome
0:39 - Burgundy background
5:14 - Strategies to pick Burgundy*
6:18 - Tasting notes
6:30 - Louis Latour, Pouilly-Vinzelles, “En Paradis” 2003 ($13)
7:04 - Vincent Girardin, Santenay 1er Cru, “Les GraviÃƒÂ¨res” 2002 ($30)
7:47 - Audio comment from Johnee Bee
9:22 - Further reflections on wines tasted in last 2 shows
11:36 - Hurricane relief PSA from Dave’s Lounge
13:12 - Virtual tasting wines
15:08 - Thanks to Steve for theme music remixes!
15:20 - Clare Fader’s “The Wine” from The Elephant’s Baby
19:44 - Contact details
20:08 - Next show theme

* Strategy 1:
Reds
- Gevrey-Chambertin
- Chambolle-Musigny
- Savigny

Whites
- Meursault
- Puligny-Montrachet
- Chassagne-Montrachet

* Strategy 2:
- Saint-Aubin
- Cote de Nuits-Villages
- Santenay
- Marsannay
- Givry

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Mark West, Pinot Noir 2004

Tim — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 23:02:24 +0000

Mark West, Pinot Noir, Central Coast 2004 ($8) - Ruby in color with black cherry and spice aromas; raspberry and black cherry fruit flavors finishing with nice balancing acidity and light tannins. Enjoyable for current drinking and another great value in California Pinot Noir for under $10. Score: 8.5/10

Buy this wine online

HRM Rex-Goliath, Ã¢â‚¬Å“Giant 47 Pound RoosterÃ¢â‚¬Â?, Pinot Noir NV

Tim — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 00:17:35 +0000

HRM Rex-Goliath, “Giant 47 Pound Rooster”, Pinot Noir, California NV ($8.50) - Clear ruby in color with nice Pinot aromas of black cherries and spice; mouth-filling raspberry and black cherry fruit and a surprising kick of tannin. Not your average Pinot and surprisingly varietally correct for under $10 a bottle. An impressive wine for current drinking and a great value. Score: 8.5/10

Update: The second day this wine picked up much more aromas and some flavors from oak, so I suspect some wood chips were involved on this one. As I have said in the past, oak doesn’t bother me as long as it’s not overpowering, as it was in this case.

Winecast 42 - “New” New World Pinot Noir

Tim — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 03:38:26 +0000

This month’s theme is provided by Jens from the Cincinnati Wine Garage blog who has challenged us to sample Pinot Noir from outside of Burgundy, California or Oregon. So I first thought of a Spanish Pinot Noir I recently had at a tasting that really was different from my paradigm of Pinot from it’s more famous appellations. It was from Bodegas J Belda, their barrel fermented Pinot Noir from 2001. This wine was ruby in color with black cherry and oak aromas not unlike other ripe Pinot Noir, but the spicy dark berry fruit and hard tannins had me thinking more about the Rhone than Burgundy. I scored this an 8.5/10 on my scale. I looked for a bottle of this wine for this event, but couldn’t find one, so I asked for the most obscure Pinot from the hand picked stock of St. Paul’s Solo Vino, my new favorite wine store here in the Twin Cities. And obscure it was, but not from outside of France, it is from the Alsace region. What, you say, from the land of Riesling, Pinot Blanc and GewÃƒÂ¼rztraminer? What on earth are they thinking? Actually, Pinot Noir has a solid track record of producing interesting wines in the vineyards of Germany, so why not the cool climate, northern province of France?

Domaine Hering, Pinot Noir, Alsace AC 2003 ($19) - Very light ruby color with salmon edges, almost like a rose; has strawberry aromas and raspberry and strawberry fruit flavors that finishes with nice balancing acidity. An interesting and elegant expression of Pinot Noir, very close to the best Spatburgunder from Germany I have had in the past. Score: 8.5/10

My second selection came from my northern neighbors here in America, from the Henry of Pelham Family Estate, their Pinot Noir, “Unfiltered”, from Niagara Peninsula, Canada VQA 2003 ($20 CAN) - Ruby in color with a salmon rim; strong black cherry aromas with raspberry fruit flavors with some light tannins. I found this wine to be quite enjoyable. Score: 8.5/10

My final selection is from the Southern Hemisphere, but not from Australia as I had originally intended. Following the advice of new listener Graeme from the UK, I picked up a Kim Crawford, Pinot Noir from Marlborough, New Zealand 2004 ($12) - Bright ruby color with fresh Pinot fruit aromas of strawberry, raspberry and a bit of earth; raspberry and strawberry flavors, nicely balanced with a touch of vanilla. Conventional Pinot in style, but very nicely done and a great value. Score: 9/10

Best of tasting: Kim Crawford, Pinot Noir 2004
Best Value: Henry of Pelham Family Estate, Pinot Noir 2003

So this roundup reinforced that really good Pinot Noir can be made in many places outside of the regions for with it is famous. All these wines are from cool climates, so I guess that is a common thread that might be useful in choosing wines to try. But I do recommend the Pinot from Spain I mentioned earlier as a wine that is completely different from any Pinot you’ve ever had.

Thanks to Jens for the theme and IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll see you next month for whatever the host dreams up for WBW 15.

Winecast 37 - Sonoma Coast

Tim — Tue, 30 Aug 2005 02:19:05 +0000

This week’s podcast is a bit of an experiment in the format, influenced by Jon Gordon’s, “Future Tense”, show and podcast. I introduce a hot new wine region in California, the Sonoma Coast AVA, and recommend some Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to check out from the area.

Wineries mentioned on the show:
- Williams-Selyem
- J Rochioli Vineyards & Winery
- Gary Farrell
- Flowers Vineyard & Winery
- Littorai
- Hirsch Vineyards
- Siduri Wines
- Kistler Vineyards
- Peay Vineyards
- Sonoma-Cutrer
- Marcassin Vineyard
- Aubert Wines
- Martinelli Winery & Vineyards
- Pax Wine Cellars
- La Crema

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August Briggs, Pinot Noir, “Dijon Clones” 2003

Tim — Sun, 07 Aug 2005 16:22:41 +0000

August Briggs, Pinot Noir, “Dijon Clones” 2003 ($39) - Light ruby color, black cherry nose, big plum and raspberry flavors with a long, satisfying finish. Delicious now but has good cellaring potential. Score: 9/10

Domaine Carneros, Ã¢â‚¬Å“Avant GardeÃ¢â‚¬Â?, Pinot Noir 2003

Tim — Thu, 21 Jul 2005 22:35:00 +0000

Domaine Carneros, “Avant Garde”, Pinot Noir, Carneros 2003 ($19/available only at the winery or online) - Brilliant ruby color, strong black cherry aromas, smooth, but bold, raspberry and cherry flavors with a little dryness on the finish. Could use a year or so to soften up some, but I think this is drinking very well now. On par with Domaine CarnerosÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ more pricey Pinots. Would have taken the best value in Winecast 32 had I not forgotten about it in the cellar! Score: 8.5/10