WTN: Californian Pinot Noir and a show-stealing Pichler

Kathleen Inman (from Inman Family Wines) was in Boston for a few days, and Peter organized a dinner at Troquet with a lineup of Californian Pinot Noir focusing mostly on the recent Asimov recommendations. Troquet was stellar once again; the food was as usual outstanding (particularly the crispy skin duck confit) and Chris did an amazing job setting up the wine service (right down to numbered glasses for each wine). Great company - very nice to meet Michael Malinoski who was also at the dinner - and some really interesting wines. A few observations I left with:

- I found a number of the Pinots underwhelming and not living up to the hype of what I've heard about some of these producers. A number of them had a 'sameness' to them with red fruited flavours, a bit of spice and nothing really making them distinctive.
- The Rhys, Kutch and Inman OGV wines stood out from that lot - the Inman Olivet Grange Vyd Pinots had a real polish and elegance to them with a lightness that made them very drinkable.
- The Kutch Pinots are definitely darker/bigger wines than the others, but really beautifully balanced and handle their size very well without ever coming close to the bigger Cali PN brutes like Sea Smoke and Rochioli in style - great wines again.
- Alternative closures rock. The Inman RRV Pinot was corked. So was the 01 Arcadian. And a Prager Riesling I brought as a starter had a god-awful cork that had let it oxidise already, a real shame as I had that wine just a few weeks ago and it was beautiful. Kathleen Inman's OGV Pinots though (and her Rose) are all under screwcap, and guess what - no corked bottles! If I start buying Californian Pinot any time soon, I'll start with those!
- FX Pichler is brilliant and a show-stealer. His Steinertal Riesling Smaragd was my wine of the night by a mile. I was spitting most of the wines (and it was not particularly hard with some of the Pinots; only the Inman, Kutch and Rhys really kept inviting me to return to those and not spit), yet I couldn't resist a second pour and was trying in vain to rescue the last few drops from the empty bottle at the end of the night.
- I love Troquet. Phenomenal food and the best wine service I've experienced anywhere - with this lineup of wines, Chris had an appropriately sized table ready for us with 18 glasses at each seat - all numbered and ordered. Really impressive.

Starter wines

• 2001 Prager Riesling Smaragd Durnsteiner Kaiserberg - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
  Oxidised thanks to a lousy cork. I hate corks...
• 2002 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Loibner Steinertal - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
  Insane nose, so much white pepper, spice and exotic floral notes here that it almost smells like a Grüner (and I had to double-check that the label actually did read 'Riesling') with softer aromas of peach, smoke, minerals and lime underneath. Full bodied and mouthcoating with immense power, yet feels very light and precise in the mouth with lots of acidity and bright, focused flavours of white fruits, mandarin orange, pepper and minerals. Incredibly long finish, sensational wine.
• 2008 Inman Family Pinot Noir Rosé "Endless Crush" Olivet Grange Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Light pink in colour with flavours of strawberries, raspberries and watermelon on the nose and palate. Gentle and light bodied with good acidity and a sense of real refreshment and elegance.

Pinot Noirs

• 2002 Calera Pinot Noir Jensen Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Mount Harlan
  Clear bright red in colour with a pretty nose of red fruits and berries, earth and cinnamon. Elegant and light in the mouth with gentle red fruited flavours over savoury earthy notes lifted by good acidity. Finishes clean with medium length.
• 2001 Arcadian Pinot Noir Fiddlestix - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
  Corked. Huzzah for traditional and romantic closures!
• 2004 Inman Family Pinot Noir Olivet Grange Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Beautiful aromatics with lots of red fruits, black cherry, spices and earth on the nose. Silky textured and medium bodied in the mouth with sappy red fruited flavours, good acidity and a long finish. Very nice.
• 2004 Lane Tanner Pinot Noir Julia's Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
  Interesting nose with savoury earthy and rhubarb notes over strawberries. The palate doesn't quite live up with simpler red fruited flavours and a little tartness, finishing a little light and short.
• 2005 Inman Family Pinot Noir Olivet Grange Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Beautiful wine with lovely floral and red fruited aromas that reel you in and lead into a polished, glossy palate full of sappy red fruits, cinnamon, herbs and rose petal flavours. There's an incredible purity and elegance to the flavours here and a long refreshing finish that just stays with you. Wonderful wine.
• 2005 Arcadian Pinot Noir Gold Coast - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
  A bit of strange funk on the nose at first that clears with air to show red fruits and floral aromas. Bright cherries and red berries on the palate, well balanced with decent acidity but not particularly interesting to sit down with.
• 2005 Domaine des Croix Bourgogne - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
  Bretty. Very funky with stinky leather and barnyard notes dominating softer red fruited flavours. Hard to get past the nose on this one.
• 2006 Inman Family Pinot Noir Olivet Grange Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Seems quite tightly wound with shy aromas of cherries and some spicy and floral elements that emerge with air. Bright red fruits and cinnamon on the palate with grainy tannins on the back end and a medium length finish. Gives the impression that there's a lot more in reserve that it isn't showing right now.
• 2006 Inman Family Pinot Noir Thorn Road Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Darker in flavour profile than the other Inman Pinots with black cherry, plums and earthy flavours on the nose and palate, a firmer texture in the mouth with chewy tannins in the back and a medium length finish.
• 2006 Inman Family Pinot Noir - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Another corked bottle. Argh!
• 2006 Kutch Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Great aromatics with brambly red fruits, plums, black cherries, cinnamon and hints of orange zest. Richer and denser than most of the other Pinots at the table (bar the 07 Kutch) with red and dark fruit flavours over notes of cola, spice and earth and a creamy mouthfeel, still very well balanced with decent acidity and a long finish. Lovely.
• 2006 Anthill Farms Pinot Noir Demuth Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
  Tightly wound, unyielding nose that offers very little at first and only opens a little over the evening to show some cherry and raspberry aromas. Much more expressive on the palate where it's packed with sweet red and dark fruits layered over savoury earthy and underbrush notes. Lots of structure here with good acidity and firm, chewy tannins on the back end.
• 2006 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
  Surprisingly dark in colour and one of the most interesting wines to follow over the course of the evening; this starts out showing a whole lot of red and dark fruited flavours on the nose and palate initially but with time and air the fruit takes a step back and allows nuances of violets, forestal underbrush, pine cones and spices to emerge. Feels a little tart and astringent on the finish though with the tannins and acid making their presence felt.
• 2006 Anthill Farms Pinot Noir Tina Marie Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Green Valley
  Bright red fruits, baking spices and a faint confected element on the nose and palate here. Medium bodied and well balanced with decent acidity, but overall quite boring - drinkable but not distinctive in any way.
• 2007 Kutch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
  Dark red colour with a fantastic nose that just keeps getting better through the evening, showing black cherry, pomegranate, earth, black tea and some herbal elements. Rich and very complex on the palate with red and dark fruited flavours combining seamlessly with earth, spices, tea and smoky elements, chewy tannins and decent acidity underneath and a long finish. Along with the 05 Inman OGV, my favourite Pinot of the night.

Dessert

• 1999 Schloss Gobelsburg Grüner Veltliner Eiswein - Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal
  Crazy stuff, light gold colour with a wild nose of honey, white fruits, horseradish and a little volatile acidity/paint-like notes. Full bodied and slightly thick on the palate with flavours of peach, pineapple and apricots drenched in honey and spices. Plenty of acidity underneath all the fruit keeping the sweetness in balance, and a very long finish.

Sounds like the bookends were more fun than the main event! But such nice bookends!

I found a number of the Pinots underwhelming and not living up to the hype of what I've heard about some of these producers.

Did you have reason to believe that the hype would apply to your palate? Maybe you are flexible because of your love for Australian wine, but when I hear people praising California pinot noir (or most California wines for that matter), it's usually not with the same metric that I apply to wine. So, I feel comfortable disregarding the hype and treating it as orthogonal to my own preferences. Much as I am sure they do when hearing my hype for Saar riesling!

Well, this was a different sort of hype - most of these producers (Kutch aside) had been talked up for making much lighter styled, food-friendly and elegant Pinot Noirs. This is the article from Asimov I'd mentioned: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/dinin ... wanted=all
In fairness, a lot of the wines like the Anthill, Lane Tanner and Calera certainly were much lighter and more elegant than I've found Cali PN to be in some of my previous experiences with it - but they were just boring and all too similar.

(That said, I do treat the hype as orthogonal to my tastes if it's around the big brutish Cali Cabs and many of the high-scored Syrahs and Grenaches.)

Well, this was a different sort of hype - most of these producers (Kutch aside) had been talked up for making much lighter styled, food-friendly and elegant Pinot Noirs. This is the article from Asimov I'd mentioned: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/dinin ... wanted=all

Fair enough. I remember glancing at that article but as soon as he mentioned the 'lighter' style of Copain and I thought back to my visit to Copain in April 2008 when we found their wines (including vintage 2006 - which Asimov claims are the beginning of the stylistic shift towards refreshment) too thick and alcoholic to drink more than one glass of, I just figured this family of wines was not for me

Of course like any region, I suppose it all comes down to the specific vintage/cuvee and I need to keep an open mind. Which is also why tastings like this can be so educational.

[David M. Bueker]

So that's where Peter caught the Austrian bug. I was wondering.

Rhys and Inman are "light" for California Pinot (as is Arcadian), but they are still recognizably California to my palate. I buy Rhys/Alesia, and it's about as big as I can stand a Cali Pinot to be. A friend of mine gets Kutch, and I have found them to be too much except when paired with Kosta-Browne.

Salil,

It was very nice to meet you the other night. I had a really good time and will get my notes up as soon as I get a chance. There was indeed a certain point at which there was an emerging "sameness" of profile, but I suppose that is to be expected when all of the wines were chosen to be of a certain style. Still, your point is well-taken!

See you soon, I hope!

-Michael

Salil,

Well, I am just a month late in chiming in with my tasting notes from this dinner. Sorry for the delay! Anyway, for the record at least, here goes:

Starters:

2002 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Loibner Steinertal. The first wine of the night (other than an oxidized 2001 Prager Riesling Smaragd Durnsteiner Kaiserberg that I skipped over) offers up a nice, rich nose full of orange blossom and white flowers, creamsicle, musk melon, peach and clover honey. In the mouth, it is rich, dense and powerful, with an oily texture that fills the mouth. Flavors of sweet and sour oranges, lemon pepper and white peach are nicely framed by fine acidic cut that comes on more toward the back of the palate. It has a long finish, where some white pepper spiciness adds a nice little kick. A very enjoyable wine.

2008 Inman Family Pinot Noir Rose ‘Endless Crush’ Olivet Grange Vineyard Russian River Valley. Kathleen’s rose opens with aromas of pink grapefruit, cool fresh strawberries, a soft dusting of red pixie stick dust and a hard metal minerality. In the mouth, it gives the drinker a soft kiss of light strawberry and watermelon fruit to go with flavors of lime rind and extreme minerality (which I strongly associate with just about everything Kathleen produces from Olivet Grange). The lighter-styled body starts to fill in as it warms and takes in some air, eventually getting to the point where it is actually fairly mouth-filling with flavors of airy red fruit. A hint of brown spice comes in late to frame the very clean and precise finish. It can be a bit crunchy with the metallic edge at times, but give it some time and stick with it.

The Pinot Noirs:

2002 Calera Pinot Noir Jensen Vineyard Mount Harlan. This wine features engaging sous bois earthy aromatic notes right off the bat, along with a fine dusting of shaved nutmeg, moss and pomegranate. Otherwise, though, it is still a bit tightly-coiled and reserved. In the mouth, elegant but abundant mixed berry fruit flavors combine with savory earth and a big whack of wood spices in a mouth-filling package that appeals to me I think more than some others. I really like how the fruit comes out in a nice burst but is always framed by an earthy grounding. Tannins and more obvious woodiness come in after a while and toward the back of the palate, so I might suggest holding several more years.

2001 Arcadian Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard Santa Rita Hills. CORKED.

2004 Inman Family Pinot Noir Olivet Grange Vineyard Russian River Valley. I have a long-standing affinity for this wine, and it continues to deliver for me. It offers up a lighter-styled nose of soft strawberry, other pure red fruits, licorice rope and a hint of bay leaf. In the mouth, it is not really big but it is nonetheless fuller than the nose would suggest. There is plenty of acidic structure to frame the cocoa-dusted red berry fruit that is silky clean, balanced and even-keeled. There are no real tannins at this point, but it has the feeling that it can hang in a while longer. It seems to be in a good spot for drinking now, at least for me.

2004 Lane Tanner Pinot Noir Julia’s Vineyard Santa Maria Valley. This wine (my offering for the evening) opens up stinky and one has to wait a while for that to settle down. Eventually, after an hour or two, it comes out of that dark place and into a better light, where one finds scents of sweet maraschino and darker cherry flavors tinged with bark, sassafras, skunky fern and dried leaves. There is a bit of a stewed red fruit note that never really goes away, though, and takes away from the overall bouquet a bit. In the mouth, this flows easily across the palate, but in a narrow, linear fashion. There are some nice sweet red fruit flavors, but also a bit of metallic bitterness. As the night goes on, that stewed red fruit edge from the nose finds its way to the palate, as well. Still, the wine has very fine acidity and a lot of lift on the finish that brings the disparate elements together somehow. My impression is that the wine is in an awkward place right now and that it would be best to wait on this one.

2005 Inman Family Pinot Noir Olivet Grange Vineyard Russian River Valley. Aromas of graphite, tomato leaf, brown spices and undergrowth meld with a nice soft kiss of strawberry fruit, lemon twist and red flower petals in a way that is restrained and elegant. In the mouth, it is more aggressive and eager with both the fruit and the driving acidity than is the ’04. It features zingy mixed berry fruit and some fine stem inclusion flavors in a bright, lively package with good grip and verve—finishing with good lift but not nearly the caress as its older sibling.

2005 Arcadian Pinot Noir Gold Coast Vineyard Santa Maria Valley. A nose of pure cherry compote, Twizzler licorice, sage and wet graphite has a nice appeal. In the mouth, big flavors of cherry, rhubarb and dark chocolate combine with the acidity and the fudgy, grainy tannins to produce a bit of a sour-tinged red fruit profile. There is a lot of push and cohesion to the flavors and textures here and a good amount of lift on the finish, but also a whisper of alcoholic warmth from time to time. My advice is to wait on this one, as it is showing pretty young.

2005 Domaine des Croix Bourgogne. Peter’s interloper was a fun ringer, but not a very enjoyable wine. It is dark and a bit muddled on the nose, where an uninviting rubber smell eventually gives way to some incense and dark fruit aromas. It has a very prickly entry into the mouth and keeps that up as it fans out across the mid-palate. It really dries out toward the back, as warm slightly stewed fruit, sour acidity and sticky tannins totally coat the teeth. Bleh.

2006 Inman Family Pinot Noir Olivet Grange Vineyard Russian River Valley. This wine has a bright nose, with a very distinctive streak of powdered mineral and fresh-chpped green herbs accompanying cherry fruit. It is showing tight, but generally clean and fresh. It has a very nice sappy texture in the mouth, showing a good amount of youthful exuberance. It seems more wood-influenced and definitely grainier in tannin structure than either the ’05 or certainly the ’04. There is plenty of ripe red cherry, rhubarb and mixed berry fruit here, with some moderate stem notes. The acidity is perhaps just a bit rough-hewn on the very fine and elegant finish, which is rather dry in nature and not showing the length I think it will grow into. This is just young and destined to improve.

2005 Inman Family Pinot Noir Thorn Road Vineyard Russian River Valley. My notes tell me that Kathleen informed me that this wine is made from grapes harvested from the far Western edge of the RRV appellation and that fewer than 250 cases were produced. The nose is really lovely, yet in some ways racy—like a bowl of mixed wild berries sprinkled with dried lilac and lavender potpourri. In the mouth, it is very vibrant, with all kinds of tangy wild berry flavor. It is young and fun and complex, with some very softly-rounded tannins and fine firm balance for such an upbeat and exuberant wine. The berry-driven finish is also dusted with beautiful finishing accents of soft spices and dried flowers. I really enjoyed this wine and it was one of my wines of the night.

2006 Kutch Pinot Noir Russian River Valley. The 2006 Kutch has a complex, rich and nicely integrated bouquet of crushed raspberries, pink citrus, peppercorn and cola. In the mouth, it has a cola and fuzzy mint edge to the richly cohesive flavors of briery blackberry and wild blueberry fruit. It features a ton of spice and has a fairly strong toasted wood accenting, but has the density and spherical nature of fruit to support it. It has weight, depth and character, pausing near the finish to show a bit of acidic cut. Coming back to this for a second glass later in the evening, it begins to show a bit more herbal and toasted character that turns a touch bitter around the edges. Other than that, however, it was well-constituted and tasty.

2006 Anthill Farms Pinot Noir Demuth Vineyard Anderson Valley. This opens with aromas of intense spices, dark cranberry and wood furniture, eventually pulling in a strong dill/cedar/mint sort of character that is a bit too strong for me. There is also something else that is really distracting and off-putting that I can’t put my finger on. I think it is a sort of sweaty, musky B.O. note that gnaws at the nostrils. Anyway, in the mouth, this is rather full-bodied, with a lot of weight and a thick, flowing texture. It is dense and chewy, with lots of black cherry and dark raspberry fruit pushing ahead to a very dry, astringent finish dominated by woody tannins. For me, this comes across as just too young and raw at this point.

2006 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains. There is a really distinctive bouquet that accompanies this wine—featuring aromas of root beer and sassafras, pine sap, dried honey, tree bark and a sort of clove or mace note to add some exoticism. In the mouth, it has a nice, sweet, sappy core of red cherry and rhubarb fruit, dusted by some cocoa flavors. It pastes the tongue with its fruit and texture, giving the wine excellent grip and a chewy edge to it. It is really young, though, and at times it may come on a bit too heavy with the thickness and intensity level. The finish is real long and the wine has just a lot of presence and I can see it taking on greater finesse in a few short years’ time.

2006 Anthill Farms Pinot Noir Tina Marie Vineyard Green Valley. In complete contrast to the Demuth, this Anthill Farms offering serves up a complex and engaging bouquet of bridle leather, forest greens, mint leaf and rich mixed fruit. However, in the mouth, it is on the jammy, chunky side--without the finesse of many other wines on the table. Big, drying tannins really detract, as well. There is a big bold gob of sweet red cherry fruit, but it is monolithic and raw—coming across as simple and one-toned at this point. I was really disappointed overall in the Anthill Farms offerings and need to obviously give them a second chance before passing too harsh a personal judgment.

2007 Kutch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast. When I put my nose in the glass, this just immediately says Sonoma Pinot to me. Exuberant mixed berries, brown spices, mocha and black tea combine in a dense and textured velvet rope sort of feel. On the palate, the wine is even darker and denser than the 2006, with more wood showing, but somehow feeling like it is already beginning to integrate that into its overall character. It hangs together with an easy cohesive feel and no holes can be found as it slides across the palate and finishes with a luxuriant feel. Though this will be better a year or more out, I was still impressed with its quality.

A sweet wine to finish up:

1999 Schloss Gobelsberg Gruner Veltliner Eiswein. Interesting and pretty aromas of dried pineapple squares, bergamot and quince paste have to fight it out with some volatile paint and latex aromas that instantly take me back to a vivid memory of painting my grandfather’s back stairwell one summer 30 years ago. In the mouth, it has some of the same characteristics, with the funky latex and paint thinner thing going on beneath pure sweet flavors of sweetened pineapple, honeyed apricot and quince paste. The texture is viscous but the flavors seem light and airy. It manages to find a good balance of sweetness and acidity in all of that and ends with a long-lasting memory of fine quince flavor.

-Michael