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WTN: Dorks of York Pinot Noir Revue

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WTN: Dorks of York Pinot Noir Revue

by Jenise » Wed Sep 10, 2014 5:59 pm

So the Dorks got together for another blind tasting, topic Pinot Noir. Attending were regulars Tim, Vic, Gabe, Melissa, Bob, me and a new guy, Matt. I had not met Matt before, but he's another ITB'er (Bob and I are the only nons) with great knowledge and a terrific palate.

Matt passed a white around, not blind. 2012 Thistle Wines Chardonnay, Dundee Hills OR. Classic cooler climate chardonnay profile, balanced and elegant. Retails about $20--a good buy.

Then he produced a rose--I love it when new people overachieve to make themselves welcome. Deep rose color with a gold hue. Strawberry and rhubarb fruit, with savory notes of pie crust and bay leaf which I presume are both developments from the extra years in bottle. Nice! Another Oregonian: 2011 Raptor Ridge Pinot Noir Bellevue Cross, Willamette Valley.

I had three bottles to spread out over the night so trotted out my first offering, the 2011 Phelps Creek Pinot Noir from the Columbia Gorge appellation that straddles the OR-WA border on both sides of the Columbia River. This wine has improved quite a bit since the first bottle we opened in May or June, and it impressively shows a lot of upside potential to go. Nebbiolo-ish and barely medium in color, with cherry fruit, caramel, red roses, tea, and iron. Delicately powerful and mesmerizing for it's uniqueness and European understatement, so much so that it was 4th best of the 11 wines poured. I am really going to hate myself for not buying more than three bottles.

Next Vic put his bottle into play, a wine that sported a sweet, floral nose closer to Argentine Malbec than any pinot I know. Or want to. Sweet and soft on the midpalate, hot and bitter finish. Safe to say it scored dead last out of the 11 wines. And it was? 2009 Rex Hill, Willamette OR.

So Tim steps up with this one. And we're all like oh yeah, that's California all right. Pretty nose, good pinot typicity and a whiff of tomato leaf. More like Santa Barbara than Santiago so we're all pretty impressed that this turns out to be Chilean, a 2011 Tabali 'Talinay', Coastal Limestone Vineyard. None of that nasty green bell pepper or cactus thing that has made every Chilean pinot I've ever tasted unpleasant. But still, though tasty, only just above average. Would be good at under $20 but doesn't show well enough to command a higher price, though if I heard correctly it's priced up there.

So now Gabe sends a bottle around. We ask whose bottle it is (Melissa's his wife). He says if it's good it's his, if it's not it's Melissa's. We take a sip in unison. "Melissa's!" Gabe said he was unfamiliar with the wine but bought it off a local supermarket shelf in order to satisfy the question of what supermarket burgundy is like in Bellingham these days. Well, it's crap (but even then, we would all rather drink this than the Rex Hill). 2012 Domaine Chevalier Bourgogne: very weak raspberry fruit with fennel seed and absinthe, tart.

So I'm thinking that after those three duds it's time for some real wine, and I send around my 2007 Cristom Sommers Reserve from Oregon. Last month someone in another tasting group brought one to Bill's lunch, so I know it's in peak drinking condition even though 7 years out in a cooler vintage for a long-lived player like Cristom seems a bit early. I sniff and taste and am super excited because it's an even better bottle than the reference model--fresher, more vivid--and can't believe my ears when, before anyone else has said almost anything beyond "oh wow" the new guy sniffs, smiles and says "2007 Cristom Mount Jeff." Okay, so wrong vineyard, but how impressive is that--new guy's in the zone! Turns out he worked at Cristom for awhile, has repped the wines, and remains a big fan. And it IS real wine: funky nose, some smoke, plum, roasted beets, loam. Everything's in the right place, long finish. Pretty much everybody's #2 WOTN.

Tim's got another: black and somewhat brackish at first, with black raspberry, blueberry, soy sauce and cocoa. Rapidly integrates in the glass. Turns out to be a 2006 Marchesi Alfieri 'San Germano' from Piedemonte, a wine I owned in two earlier vintages and didn't like either any more than I like Tim's though I do think this shows better than either of mine did. Better as a geek curiosity, to my mind, than a wine I want to drink.

So here's Gabe's wine. Lighter bodied California style with a macerated strawberry nose. With time, gains cherry and other subdued elements and turns rather elegant in the mouth. It's a 2011 La Follette, the label somehow related to the esteemed Flowers winery, though I can't offhand recall exactly what. Good value for an under $30 pinot.

I decide it's time for my last wine, which I held back because of age but would need to go second to last as the new guy has made it clear he wants to serve last. So out goes my 2005 Faiveley Mercurey Domaine de la Croix Jacquelet. I last opened one of these in June, which I liked, but this immediately proves to be a better bottle. And it's unmistakably burgundy, everybody leaps on that with confidence, full of earthy fruit, cinnamon, spice, mushroom, caramel, and superb length on the finish. The group is convinced its an NSG, and it did show like one, so it's all the more impressive that it's 'just' a Burgundy satellite and not the Cote d'Or. WOTN all around.

But wait, Tim has another one too. And it's different, harder to peg because it's extracted and modern, redder and meatier than we expect from Burgundy though it turns out to be one, a 2005 1er Cru Champimonts from Beaune and a producer called Chanson Pere & Fils. Have never had one of their wines, but was offered some a year or two ago which I turned down after reading some notes on CellarTracker and determining that Chanson's style isn't up my alley. I think with time this will actually turn into a nice drink, but it needs more time to evolve.

So now the new guy sends out his finale. Was convinced on first whiff that it was another burgundy but we soon stepped back into Oregon: funky nose, lovely baked cherry notes with a good earthiness and a little Asian five spice. Am thinking it's 04 or even older, but it turns out to be an 07. And not just any 07. A Cristom 07!--no wonder Matt recognized my wine. This time, it's the Marjorie vineyard. If softens a bit in the glass, perhaps too much so, doesn't have the freshness of the earlier Cristom--passive storage, maybe? Still, excellent. Ranked #3 of 11.

Fun night.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

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