Pinot Noir Tasting

My tasting partner recently had a very long and difficult stretch of work, so when Friday evening rolled around, it was up to me to pick out 2 ‘good wines’ to compare.  I decided to pick Pinot Noirs from both Oregon and California that we had in our cellar.  A note on the prices- these were the prices we paid when we cellared these wines.  We compared a Beaux Freres, Upper Terrace, Willamette Valley, Oregon, 2004 ($75.00) 14.3% alcohol and a Laetitia, Les Galets, Arroyo Grande, 2004 ($70.00) 14.5% alcohol.

We both always like the Pinot Noirs from Beaux Freres.  These wines are vinified in the ‘Old World’ or Burgundian (French) style, with a higher percentage of clusters and stems.  They have more interest and are not as fruity as some New World styled Pinot Noirs.  They seem to have more ‘herbaceous notes’ than a fruit forward Pinot Noir.  That saying, we loved this Pinot from Beaux Freres and will be purchasing more.

We also enjoyed the Pinot Noir from Laetitia.  It is vinified in a Burgundian style, but has more of a mineral taste.  ‘Les galets’ means stones or pebbles.  The grapes for this wine were grown in very stony soil.  We enjoyed this wine as well.  It had a nice finish and was balanced.

Beaux Freres, Upper Terrace     2004  ($75.00)          94 pts

Laetitia, Les Galets                       2004  ($70.00)          92-3 pts

 

 My tasting partner found an interesting article on the question of whole cluster versus destemmed grape fermentation which discusses the different approaches and the resulting wine. 

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3488/is_2_86/ai_n12417578/?tag=content;col1

Earlier in the month we tasted a Pinot Noir that was given to us as a gift.  Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve, Pinot Noir, 2005, Willamette Valley, ($65.00) 14.1% alcohol. It is vinified in the Burgundian style, was balanced, and had some red fruit and a nice finish.

Domaine Serene, Evenstad Reserve    2005 ($65.00)           93 pts

After the ‘good ‘pinot tasting, I happened upon an offer of Pinot Noirs from The Wine Club.  The wine was Samsara Pinot Noir, Las Hermanas, Santa Rita Hills, Ca, 2008 ($44.99) and 14.4% alcohol.  It is a limited production of only 100 cases.  I took a chance and ordered a few bottles, and we tasted one the evening it arrived.  As my tasting partner said ‘this is what we are looking for’; the wine had a deep fruit taste balanced by herbaceous notes, nice tannins and a decent finish.  At $44.99 it was a great buy and we will be on the look out for more wines from this vineyard.

Samsara Pinot Noir, Las Hermanas  2008  ($44.99)              93-4 pts

The Wine Club in Santa Ana, Ca.  (1-800-966-5432)

For those of you in the San Francisco area, there is also

The Wine Club

953 Harrison Street, San Francisco, CA 94107  (1-800-966-7835)

94 Points

Friends Wine Tasting, October 2010

I am not going to review the wines we tasted a couple of weeks ago with 12 of our friends, but will list the wines and post a picture.  The theme was ’94 points’ with the idea that we would have some good wines to taste and compare.  We had a lovely afternoon sharing wines (only 50 ml per glass per bottle) food and friendship.  Cheers!

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut

Rusack, Chardonnay, 2008 Santa Barbara County

Cartlidge & Browne, Chardonnay, 2009 Napa Valley

Patz & Hall, Pinot Noir, 2008 Sonoma Coast

Gainey, Syrah, 2006 Santa Ynez Valley

Clio, Mourvedre Blend, 2007 Jumilla, Spain

Hall, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006 Napa Valley

Ch. Montelena, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2002 Napa Valley

Honig, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007 Napa Valley

Matriarch, Red Wine, 2001 Napa Valley

Ch Palmer, Bordeaux, 2001 Margaux, France

Ch. Montelena, Cuvee, 1997 Calistoga

Ch Laufaurie Peyragrey, Sauternes Dessert Wine, Bordeaux, France

94 Points Wine Tasting

Some Costco Wines

We bought a few wines from Costco, recognizing that wines reviewed from Costco may not be available to all and may in fact be gone the next day.  However, you might find them either in your Costco or at another wine outlet.  I also bought a wine that was not within my wine taster’s budget, but if you have a special occasion and you happen to find this first wine, it might be worth investing in a bottle. 

First up- Juan Gil, 2008, ($11.89) a red wine from the Jumilla region of Spain.  It is 100% Monastrell grape and 15% alcohol.  (As an aside, the Monastrell grape from Spain is also known as the Mourvedre grape in France which is used in Rhone style wines.)  This wine needed time to air, but it was meaty, with a hint of leather and robust, with a dark red color.  We both enjoyed it and I went out in search of more.  I think Spanish wines are often overlooked and I am planning on tasting more of them.  

Zuccardi Q, 2007 ($14.99) a Malbec from Argentina.  This is a typical Malbec, straight forward fruit with a hint of leather.  It has a short finish, but is pleasant and accessible.  It is 14% alcohol.  We are comparing this Malbec with some other Malbecs that I have purchased, so you will see it reviewed again.

Juan Gil        2008 ($11.89)                       92 pts

Zuccardi Q    2007   ($14.99)                     89-90 pts

Juan Gil and Zuccardi Q Wines

Napa Cabs

Hall, 2006 ($29.99) a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon was a real find.  Unfortunately it was sold out when I went back a week later.   It was a fruity, well balanced Napa Cab with a lovely finish.  It is 14.5% alcohol and a find at $30, which of course is why it was sold out.  Costco still had the 2005 vintage, but I hear it is nowhere near the level of the 2006 so don’t go looking for it.

Finally, the wine I went over budget to try was Lail Vineyards, J. Daniel Cuvee, 2006 ($99.99) Napa Cabernet Sauvignon.  After airing for about an hour to soften the tannins, (it was 14.9% alcohol) this Napa Cab was fruity, had a nice mid palate, a lovely finish, and was well balanced.  I believe this wine, in comparison to the 2006 Hall, was a better wine, though my tasting partner did not think it was worth the additional money.  I did. 

Hall                                                     2006 ($29.99)                       93 pts

J.Daniel Cuvee Lail Vineyard               2006 ($99.99)                       95 pts

Lail Vineyard and Hall Wines

 See you next time.

Italian Tasting: Labor Day 2010

We went to an Italian Wine tasting on Labor Day and some lovely wines were tasted, probably too expensive for this site, but worth noting.  Here are some photos of the wines we tasted:

We spoke at length to an Italian wine aficionado and he had some interesting comments, the most important one was that Italian wines were made to be enjoyed ‘with food from the region’ for example, tomatoes.  We kept that in mind when we had our tasting at home.

The first wine we tasted was a Da Vinci Chianti, 2008 ($10.99). It is impressive how the wine changes with food.  Tasted alone the Chianti was acidic and insipid.  We were both pleasantly surprised that with a homemade Neapolitan Pizza the acid from the tomatoes softened the acidity in the wine.  The wine was complemented by the tomato based meal and opened up with some ripe fruit taste.  It is 13% alcohol.

The next night we tasted a Tuscana Villa Antinori, 2006 ($17.98) which could be considered a ‘Super Tuscan’.  It is a blend of Sangiovese (60%), Cabernet Savignon (20%), Merlot (15%), and Syrah (%5) and was lovely.  It had a nice mid palate, good fruit and a nice finish.  It also went well with Italian style food: tomatoes, basil, and pasta.  It is 13.5% alcohol and was surprisingly good for the money- a good buy.

Da Vinci Chianti             2008  ($10.99)                          89-90 pts

Tuscana Villa Antinori   2006 ($17.99)                             92 pts

First tastes- August 2010

The challenge presented by my sons was to taste wines that they could afford, in the $15-25 price range, and that were available from most wine or grocery stores. I purchased 6 wines, 2 of each varietal, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon and then my tasting partner,  Paul, and I began tasting.

We compared Wild Horse Pinot Noir, 2008 ($16.99) and a Pinot Noir from La Crema, 2008 ($18.99).  We both thought the Wild Horse Pinot was more intense and had a better structure and a longer finish.  The Wild Horse Pinot was a good buy.  We have tried the La Crema before (other years) and we have liked it, however, this La Crema was weak.  Both wines had the same  level of alcohol (13.9%)

Wild Horse Pinot Noir, 2008   ($16.99)                          92-94 pts

Pinot Noir from La Crema, 2008  (18.99)                      89 pts                                            

Pinot Noir

The next day we tried a Stag's Leap Merlot, 2007 ($24.99) and a Wild Horse Merlot, 2006 ($15.99).  The Stag's Leap Merlot (14.6 % alcohol) was the best wine of the tasting- it had a lovely bouquet, a nice finish and was well structured, and despite being higher in alcohol than the Wild Horse (13.9%), did not taste 'hot'. The Stag's Leap Merlot is a good deal.  The Wild Horse Merlot was uninteresting, but inoffensive.  That evening we both started wondering why we don't drink more Merlots.

Stag's Leap Merlot, 2007     ($24.99)                     92 pts
Wild Horse Merlot, 2006      ($15.99)                     89 pts

Merlot

Finally, on the third night, we tried a BV Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007 ($14.99) and a Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon,  2006 ($27.99).  Cabernets at this price point are always a gamble.  Paul thought the BV was the better of the two, but I felt the Clos du Val opened up after giving it some time to breathe.  Both wines were young.  I  thought the BV was hot (14.5% alcohol) even after allowing it to air.  I thought the Clos du Val (13.9% alcohol) was acceptable, smooth, but not very interesting.  I would not give it a strong recommendation, especially at this price.  It is going to be difficult to find a decent Cabernet Sauvignon in the $20-30 range, but we will continue to taste and evaluate.

BV Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007  ($14.99)  90-92
Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006 ($27.99)           90

Cabernet Sauvignon

In summary, I would look for the Wild Horse Pinot Noir 2008 or the Stag's Leap Merlot 2007.

Next up, this weekend we will be going to an Italian wine tasting and I will have my camera and will be taking notes.  I will be looking for accessible wines that might be available for purchase at most grocery or wine stores.

Yours in taste,

Adrienne