WTN: Two odd wines, Chermette and Merry Edwards

[Jenise]

2007 Pierre Chermette Beaujolais
Even though I'm on Wine Buying Probation, I couldn't resist picking up this Chermette recently, a producer I've not had but read good things about here. We opened it Sunday night. Have to say I didn't quite know what to make of it, especially when comparing it mentally to the 07 Brun Nouveau (IIRC what I read here, this Chermette is technically a nouveau even though the bottle isn't labelled as such). Grapey nose that reminds me more of a generic DuBoeuf than the Brun I mentioned. On the palate, sweet strawberry and raspberry fruit with a lot of black pepper. I enjoyed drinking it as long as I didn't inhale while sipping.

2006 Merry Edwards pinot noir, Russian River, CA
A restaurant purchase last Friday at Yosemite Valley's Awahnee Hotel. Been a fan of Merry's in the past, but this wine didn't deliver what I hope for from either Merry or RRV pinot. First there was this green, herbal nose. And though that lessened marginally with air, the sweet spicey cherry stuff we want/need/expect never appeared. On the palate, it was also thin and underflavored compared to expectations. It went fine enough with our (terrible) food, but it never warranted the $80 price tag. What struck me as especially odd, though, was that for all the evidence of underripeness, the wine still registered over 14% alcohol. How's that possible?

Jenise,

I've not had the ME 2006 RRV PN (yet ). Previous vintages of the blended RRV botting are a bit lean, save for 2004. I'm not sure if what you identifed as an green/herbal nose isn't always part of this bottling (I usually detect a steminess), or whether the higher yields the winery described last Spring have a larger effect here.

Your note, Jenise, does not square with those in CT...not one mention of green.... I may try to open a bottle in the next week or so to see...had the '02 not too long ago, and it was stunning.

Mmmm, Yosemite in the fall - it must have been even more beautiful than normal!

James,

What's CT ?

[David M. Bueker]

CellarTracker. Lots of us have our wine inventories in there.

[Jenise]

Jeff, I've not had a Merry Edwards in some time. I just know that all the Merry Edwards pinots I've had have captured what is, for me, the definitive taste of the Russian River. And this bottle wasn't that. It's likely that your stemmy and my green are probably the same thing, though. Also, I was drinking out of restaurant glassware more suited to a sauvignon blanc than a pinot noir. That wouldn't make the wine what it was, but it wouldn't help it show better either.

Thanks.

[Jenise]

Your note, Jenise, does not square with those in CT...not one mention of green.... I may try to open a bottle in the next week or so to see...had the '02 not too long ago, and it was stunning.

HMMMM, that's surprising. You know what, when I first stuck my nose in the glass, I feared it might be corked--and my cork detector is pretty good. Then I decided no, it was just 'green', an assessment the three others who shared the bottle agreed with. Perhaps it mildly corked after all--though note Jeff reports that a certain stemmy/green character is typical of this bottling.

[Jenise]

Mmmm, Yosemite in the fall - it must have been even more beautiful than normal!

Unfortunately the fall color change we hoped to witness wasn't as developed as it would normally be at this time, and too we managed to schedule our visit while they were doing controlled burns on the south side of the park. Prevailing winds made our planned day of park touring a smoggy mess, therefore, but the second day, when we drove back through (we stayed in Wawona on the south side) to exit Yosemite via the Tioga Pass, it was beautiful. And speaking of the Tioga Pass, that is either equal to or the second most beautiful drive in California next to the Big Sur/Carmel trip. Stunning topography, and even more dramatic changes. Lived in California most of my life and didn't know that until last week.

[David M. Bueker]

Yosemite is my second favorite place in the world, after Lake O'Hara in Canada.

Yosemite Falls and Half Dome.jpg

Mmmm, Yosemite in the fall - it must have been even more beautiful than normal!

Unfortunately the fall color change we hoped to witness wasn't as developed as it would normally be at this time, and too we managed to schedule our visit while they were doing controlled burns on the south side of the park. Prevailing winds made our planned day of park touring a smoggy mess, therefore, but the second day, when we drove back through (we stayed in Wawona on the south side) to exit Yosemite via the Tioga Pass, it was beautiful. And speaking of the Tioga Pass, that is either equal to or the second most beautiful drive in California next to the Big Sur/Carmel trip. Stunning topography, and even more dramatic changes. Lived in California most of my life and didn't know that until last week.

Stunning is right, esp. the descent on the east side toward Mono Lake. I was looking forward to the 'gourmet' Texaco station in the valley, only to discover it has 'seasonal' hours, so was closed in October

And David, no way that photo was taken this time of year! There are only whisps of water coming down now.