A recent dinner with the guys at a local watering hole had a theme very loosely defined as "Pinot Noir" and we had an interesting mix of random choices that people ended up bringing.
1988 Ponzi Vineyards Pinot Noir Reserve Oregon. The nose is immediate and open, with initial aromas of purple flowers and chalk. It soon turns darker, though, bringing in notes of plums, dark red berries, mulling spices, mocha dust and a strong varnished, sort of volatile note that floats in and out. In the mouth, it is rounded and easy-going, with a pillowy texture and some denser sappiness below. The fruit is in retreat, however, with the soft-edged acidity and structure forward. It is definitely showing some age, with little or no tannin and just some slight astringency on the finish. It is pretty nice, but it is definitely time to drink up.
1988 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Benedict Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley. There is a touch of mustiness on the nose that blows off with some swirling and is replaced by aromas of candied raspberries, cool bell pepper and earth that grow and expand nicely with time. In the mouth, it is oddly undefined and primary—like a big glob of blue and black fruits. It has a very smooth texture with a lot of glycerin and it goes down so easy and slippery. In fact, it has an effortless sense of flow but it seems to have no breadth or complexity, as it never really unfolds or fans out even the slightest bit. There are also some sticky tannins still hanging out on the finish, making the whole package feel somehow barely resolved. It is an odd wine to try and assess, that is for sure.
1997 L’Ecosse Pinot Noir Rochioli Vineyard Russian River Valley. The nose here is wide open—with sweet, sappy and densely lush fruit, sweet cocoa powder, caramel, cola nut and sarsaparilla aromas riding above some earthy mushroom, spice and dried stem notes. It is brambly and spicy in the mouth, with a feeling of lushness and density to it. Sneaky tannins frame fine flavors of cola, red currants and a broad array of spices. It is fresh and tangy, with good length on the finish. This is a pretty wine with some interesting nuances and fine balance. This was definitely a group favorite. My #3 wine of the night.
1998 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Seven Springs Vineyard Willamette Valley. This wine sports a bright, spicy, somewhat sexy bouquet--with beautiful red berry confiture, dark caramel, Baker’s chocolate and iron notes blending effusively. It is smooth and broadly-textured, with a nice feeling of openness but also fine structure and plenty of fine-grained tannins. Lots of red berries and herbal flavors on a medium-bodied frame lead to a finish that from time to time shows just the faintest whiff of alcoholic warmth. On day 2, the whole package blossoms further and feels even better integrated and balanced, with impressive depth beginning to show and no heat in evidence. Tied for WOTN for me.
1998 Ken Wright Cellars Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vineyard Willamette Valley. A gently high-toned note of framboise melds together with notes of earth, leather, eucalyptus and forest fern on the nose of this particular pinot noir. In the mouth, I can’t say it is one of my favorites this night, as there is a really big whack of spicy oak that is a bit overwhelming to the palate. It also shows a bit of heat and feels a touch muddled or jangly at this stage of the game. This needs time to come together.
1998 Panther Creek Pinot Noir Bednarik Vineyard Willamette Valley. Aromatically, this was one of my favorites of the night. It just coats the nostrils with its sweet aromas of raspberry, cranberry, deep cassis, red beets and sweaty funk. It shows lush layering and many facets. It feels decidedly more rough and tumble in the mouth, with lots of drying tannins, however. Riding atop those tannins is a full-bodied core of dense chalky blue and black berry and mixed currant fruits that feel like they need a few more years to smooth out. This ought to be darned good down the road, as long as the fruit can outlast the tannins.
1999 Cristom Pinot Noir Reserve Willamette Valley. Another of the real crowd-pleasers, this was probably the group wine of the night. It is beautiful and wonderfully integrated on the nose, with sexy red raspberry, cherry and strawberry fruits accented by fresh herbs, earthy mushroom and classy cocoa powder notes. It is warm, plush and enveloping, eventually adding in some interesting pencil shaving notes to add further complexity. It is finely-structured and tensile in the mouth, with a classy, still fairly coiled up feel that bodes well for future development. There are some soft dusty tannins that still manage to give it a feel of gentle easy-drinking despite the finely-honed structure. This is really nice now but should be even better with a few more years in the cellar. Tied for my wine of the night.
1999 Domaine Meo Camuzet Bourgogne. The nose is a bit more reined in than the Cristom, but has its own appeal—with aromas of soupy red berries and baked earth. It is well-rounded in the mouth, with fine depth and richness and a nice plump bottom note. It has good balance and some gentle tannins, but does finish rather dry. The next day, it is actually too dry and feels rather austere, so it is probably best to give this one 3-5 years more to find greater harmony.
2006 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Temperance Hill Vineyard Willamette Valley. Some rubber, white pepper, dried herbs and spicy warm red fruits are featured on the nose of this young wine. It is more promising in the mouth, where it feels precocious and lively, with good verve and vivacity to go with a juicy fruit profile. There is good presence to the flavors of powdered chocolate, dark cherry, spice and earth. For all that, it still feels welcoming and certainly offers good drinking now with solid promise for future development.
1999 E. Guigal Cote-Rotie Brune et Blonde. From 375 ml bottle. Jeff wanted to check in on this, so who cares if it doesn’t fit the theme? Well, we probably needn’t have bothered, as this is rather ungiving right now. The wine is tight on the nose, with undifferentiated murky cool fruit to go along with earthy white pepper, bark and moss notes. In the mouth, it has a nicely-textured entry but it quickly yields to some ferocious tannins that clamp down hard the rest of the way and lend to the feel of a clipped finish. Flavors of black currant, rubber and under-ripe green pepper are not really appealing right now. My advice is to sit on this.
N.V. Chambers Tokay Rosewood Vineyards Rutherglen. From 375 ml bottle and weighing in at 18.5% abv. This is amber-colored and features aromas of toasted caramel, brown sugar, lime juice and a sort of varnish/paint thinner note that burns the nostrils big-time. It is limpid, viscous and clingy-textured, with flavors of fresh caramel, melted butterscotch and wood spices. It finishes with razor-sharp acidity but also a feel of alcoholic warmth. It has some nice component parts, but feels a bit clumsy at times.
-Michael
