[wine] Report from World of Pinot Noir 2008

Report from the World of Pinot Noir - March 2008 - Shell Beach, CA WOPN Friday morning seminar: "Are We Losing Our Regionality?" Venue: Tolosa Winery, San Luis Obispo, CA Moderator: Peter Neptune, MS Panelists & viticultural area represented: Grant Stanley, Winemaker, Quail's Gate Estate Winery (Okanagan Valley, B.C.) Steven Rogstad, Winemaker, Cuvaison Estate Wines (Carneros, CA) Adam Lee, Owner & Winemaker, Siduri Wines (Santa Lucia Highlands, CA) Christian Roguenant, Winemaker, Baileyana Winery (Edna Valley, CA) Norm Yost, Owner & Winemaker, Flying Goat Cellars (Santa Rita Hills, CA) Evelyn Vidal, Winemaker, Kingston Family Vineyards (Casablanca Valley, Chile) "Viticultural area represented" refers to the wines shown at this seminar. Siduri and Flying Goat, and perhaps others, also produce pinots from other appellations. The astute reader will already have noted that this seminar included producers from the Western Hemisphere's northernmost (Okanagan) and southernmost (Casablanca Valley) pinot noir appellations. A. Quail's Gate - 2007 Boucherie Mountain Estate Vineyard, Clone 115 (barrel sample) (Okanagan Valley). Forward, pretty, pretty red cherry nose. Bright acidity in the mouth, tannin, lots of cherry fruit, not ready for prime time (a lot of quality components not yet well integrated), excellent length. B. Quail's Gate - 2006 Boucherie Mountain Estate Vineyard, Stewart Family Reserve (Okanagan Valley). Evolved color compared to the preceding wine; far more complete although less forward nose; lots of legs in the glass; silky mouth entry, then grippy, plenty of unsweet fruit; structured, lengthy finish, needs time; fine bottle. (Grant Stanley reported that this wine is mostly a Spatburgunder clone, from Germany. At dinner the following night, this wine had not yet integrated its oak well enough to be a standout with the food, but the equivalent 2005 bottling was, to me, one of the best two out of a couple of dozen young pinots tasted.) C. Cuvaison - 2007 Clone 115 (barrel sample) (Carneros). Near inky; candy oak on nose; silky mouth entry, then GRIP; clear, attractive blue cheese flavor; big wine flashes its alcohol, then lots of fruit; expanding finish, not ready for prime time but very promising. D. Cuvaison - 2006 Block F5 (Carneros). Again a comparatively evolved color; transparent nose, pretty in the best sense of the word, very Carneros, red cherry and dirt; in the mouth sappy, substantial and delicious though quite tannic; large and long, this should be an outstanding bottle, peacock's tail finish, this is excellent! (Full disclosure: good Carneros pinots push all my buttons. Others think Carneros is the least of California's pinot appellations. These observations are offered so that friends may judge the likelihood, or not, that they'll share my highly positive reaction to this wine.) E. Siduri - 2007 Rosella's Vineyard, Clone 115 (barrel sample) (Santa Lucia Highlands). Both of the Siduri wines were distinctly browner, although by no means oxidized looking, than the rest of the wines on the table. Nose bright sour cherry and cinnamon; clear, transparent flavor, very fruit forward, big wine, especially for its clarity and definition; smooth transition, then finishing grip, this seems almost ready to drink, tasty! (More full disclosure: I've often liked wines from Rosella's Vineyard, which sells grapes to several producers, perhaps because they remind me of Anderson Valley or Carneros. They mostly are not stereotypical Santa Lucia Highlands inky, nearly syrah-like monsters.) F. Siduri - 2006 Garys' Vineyard (Santa Lucia Highlands). Highly forthcoming Christmas spice nose. In the mouth, unsweet complexity, then delicious glyceral lovely fruit, quite a bit darker in the fruit flavor spectrum than the preceding wines; very aromatic finish showing less fruit than the midpalate but this has excellent length and structure. Superb. (Single vineyard Siduri wines are too big, too alcoholic, too sweet for me more often than not, but the ones that don't cross that line, certainly including this example, are wonderful.) G. Baileyana - 2007 Firepeak Vineyard, Clone 115 (barrel sample) (Edna Valley). Purple! Candy oak; the most obviously a barrel sample of any of these, tastes like grape juice and alcohol, grippy, simple although substantial, fine primary fruit and length, oak on finish, decidedly not ready for prime time. H. Baileyana - 2006 Estate Cuvee 1909, Firepeak Vineyard (Edna Valley). Reticent young nose; mouth entry sweet, powerful, acid structure and tannin, this may lack fruit or may simply be unevolved; quite long but one would certainly call this subtle (though NOT light) compared to the other wines here; very, very nice flavor late in the finish. (I have no experience with how Baileyana's wines evolve. If this puts on a bit of weight and blossoms aromatically, as pinots have been known to do, it should be memorable.) (Christian Roguenant, as nice a guy as you could hope to share a glass of wine with, came to California from Champagne Deutz to serve as winemaker at Maison Deutz in Arroyo Grande. Deutz later sold that property, which is now Laetitia and still making very fine sparkling wine, in addition to being a very large producer of still red pinot noir. M Roguenant is currently winemaker at Baileyana and its sister winery, Tangent, which focuses on albarino and other non-chardonnay white grapes. On the subject of Edna Valley versus Burgundy, he says: "When we have 80-year-old vines in Edna Valley, you'll be amazed..") I. Flying Goat - 2007 Rio Vista Vineyard, Clone 115 (barrel sample) (Santa Rita Hills). Quite sappy young fruit on nose; has this not quite finished its malolactic? LEGS in the glass. In the mouth rich, round, laser pure, grip, Santa Rita Hills dark fruits; finishes as its tastes, tannin and acid structure, fine length, very promising. (One must always discount talk about the current vintage being the greatest, but there was a fair bit of buzz at the event about the quality of California's 2007 pinot vintage, north and south.) J. Flying Goat - 2005 Rio Vista Vineyard, "Dijon" (Dijon clone blend) (Santa Rita Hills). Dark, more evolved color; fall-in Santa Rita Hills nose of dark fruit and herbs, oak prominent; mouth entry unsweet, then rich-glyceral-sweet HUGE; finish relatively undeveloped but probably just because it's so big in the mouth. (With a bit more air, a little later in the tasting, the finish was noticeably more open. Full disclosure: I adore and regularly buy Flying Goat's wines.) K. Kingston Family Vineyards - 2007 "Concha y Toro" clone (barrel sample) (Casablanca Valley, Chile). Purple; legs in the glass; spicy, mineral nose; mouth entry silky, rich, grippy, blue cheese, spices, dirt; trace of the blue cheese flavor on transition, fine balance, emphatically not a fruit bomb especially in this company, interesting wine. L. Kingston Family Vineyards - 2006 "Alazan" (Casablanca Valley, Chile). Lovely nose, perhaps a trace lifted? Silky mouth entry, balanced fruit, then light grip and sound acid structure; tasty! Aromatic finish with lots of acidity, this needs a little time, excellent finishing length with expanding fruit, lovely wine. (At US $28 suggested retail, a bargain! An American family owns the winery, and Kingston's wines are readily available in the United States.) WOPN Friday afternoon seminar: "Exploring Oregon's 'New World Burgundy'" Venue: Tolosa Winery, San Luis Obispo, CA Moderator: Harry Peterson-Nedry, Founder, Winemaker and Partner, Chehalem Panelists: James Cahill, Winemaker, Soter Vineyards Lynn Penner-Ash, Proprietor & Winemaker, Penner-Ash Wine Cellars Adam Campbell, Winemaker & Partner, Elk Cove Vineyards Ben Casteel, Winemaker & Partner, Bethel Heights Vineyard Steve Doerner, Winemaker, Cristom Vineyards Mike Etzel, Partner & Winemaker, Beaux Freres As Oregon wine fans know, six new AVA's within the Willamette Valley were officially approved in 2005 and 2006. Theoretically, wines from a particular AVA have common characteristics not expressed, or expressed differently, by wines from other AVA's. Although the wines presented were of very high quality, and despite the panelists' best efforts, this seminar did not - for me - shed light on what if any common characteristics are expressed in the glass by Yamhill-Carlton, Eola-Amity Hills, and Ribbon Ridge wines respectively. Hmmm, perhaps more extensive tasting is in order.. A. Soter Vineyards - 2005 Mineral Springs (Yamhill-Carlton). Inky; legs in the glass, shoe polish and reticent deep black fruit on nose; mouth entry of silk, substantial dark fruit, acidity; smooth transition to expanding finish, excellent length, redder fruits very late; lots of material, this seems very young although it's not particularly tannic. (The winery considers this vineyard more accessible young than their Beacon Hill bottling. Early conventional wisdom on Oregon vintage 2005 is that it's a classic long ager, and 2006 is riper and plusher.) B. Penner-Ash Wine Cellars - 2006 Dussin Vineyard (Yamhill-Carlton). Crystalline black-purple. Forthcoming Dijon-clone-type nose, clear, pure, penetrating; in the mouth rich, round, VERY sweet dark fruit, pie spice and herbs; takes a long time for the fruit to come up on transition, but it does; back end aromatics undeveloped, but the wine ultimately expands and lengthens; this needs time to round off the sweetness. C. Elk Cove Vineyards - 2006 Mt. Richmond Vineyard (Yamhill-Carlton). Near opaque black purple. Initially, a nose of dirt, possible VA, could this be corked?? With a little air, no, seems to be a sound bottle, richer nose as it opens, blackberry-blueberry; midpalate rich, sweet, and oaky, similar to preceding wine, good acid structure; finishes as it tastes, some acid heat, this needs time to integrate its components. D. Bethel Heights Vineyard - 2006 Flat Block (Eola-Amity Hills). Medium purple; nose reticent at first, opening to show clear, attractive tropical fruit with oak and herbs, distinctly penetrating quality; very glyceral mouth feel and at the same time some heat, highish alcohol and low acid?? Cinnamon sugar cookie blackberry cobbler finish, yum! E. Cristom Vineyards - 2005 Jessie Vineyard (Eola-Amity Hills). Inky black purple. QUITE an herbal nose, then rich red fruit; balanced in the mouth, tastes similar to the nose, this is delicious but it's certainly not a fruit bomb; smooth transition to finish as it tastes, fine length, may not be the last word in complexity but I like this a lot. Very harmonious. (At this point I wrote in my notebook: "These are more tannic than they seem!" So much material that although one doesn't particularly notice the tannin, one's mouth is desert dry after tasting a few wines.) F. Chehalem - 2005 Ridgecrest Vineyard (Ribbon Ridge). Crystalline near opaque purple black. Reticent nose, but this seems to have real herbal depth, pie spice, dark fruit; in the mouth redder and much more (than the nose revealed) aromatic fruit, grip, acid structure, big wine; slightly hot transition to a lengthy fade. G. Beaux Freres - 2006 Beaux Freres Vineyard (Ribbon Ridge). (My first pour was from a very slightly faulty bottle, the kind where it takes you quite a while to figure out that it's off; I wasn't absolutely positive until I got a replacement pour, from a sound bottle. Notes refer to the latter.) Medium purple-black. Legs in the glass, oak and bright fruits on nose; rich, silky mouth entry, fruit profile quite red in this crowd; transition is smooth although I feel some alcohol; this is QUITE persistent although not that forcefully aromatic on the finish. Saturday evening: Santa Barbara Style Paulee at Au Bon Climat Winery, Santa Maria, CA A very great party in ABC's barrel room. Loud music and dancing. Eight (plus) rock-star chefs from San Francisco to Los Angeles to Dallas to Miami made small plates: ceviche, rare tuna, Kobe mini-burgers, lamb stew, amazing flatbreads (small pizzas) including one that was basically a green salad with a perfect vinaigrette over awesome Parmigiano Reggiano baked into a whole wheat pizza crust, bananas Foster, wonderful artisan breads, etc. Several dozen wineries provided bottles, in most cases multiple bottles per winery, for guests' enjoyment. In addition, each guest was invited to bring a bottle of wine to share. One gentleman, whose name I unfortunately failed to write down, was kind enough to share a Salmanazar of Pol Roger as we arrived for dinner. (Thank you!) If you're only going to open one bottle of champagne, that's certainly the right size. There was the obligatory rumor that someone had a DRC bottle open, but if so, I didn't see it. I did get to try the famous 2005 Foxen, Sea Smoke Vineyard, Santa Rita Hills, but at this point it needs to be tossed into a cool cellar and forgotten about for 7-10+ years. An interesting group from Soter Vineyards: 1997 Soter Beacon Hill Blanc de Blancs (sparkling), Willamette Valley, en magnum, disgorged 3/07: magnificently dry, yeasty, minerally nose, this couldn't possibly be conspicuous as a New World wine if you snuck it into a serious Champagne tasting, could it? Full, rich, sweet midpalate, far sweeter than the aristocratic nose, then a very dry, minerally, long finish. Fascinating, and likely to be splendid when it's 20 years old. Also: 1998 Soter Beacon Hill Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, en magnum, and 1999 Soter Beacon Hill Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, en magnum. Messrs. Poulos and Cahill, and Mr. Soter, thank you for your generosity. The 1998 is just beginning to peek out from behind its robe of acidity and tannin, hinting at how good it will be in another few years. The 1999 is still hopelessly young but has unlimited potential. Best young wines, of probably a couple of dozen tasted: 2005 Quail's Gate Pinot Noir, Stewart Family Reserve, Okanagan Valley (Grant Stanley is making great pinot in Canada); and 2006 Rhys Vineyards Pinot Noir, Alpine Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains. If you're not on the Rhys mailing list, you should be. This particular wine is not scheduled for release until Fall 2008. Best maturing/mature wines: 1995 Laetitia Pinot Noir, Laetitia Vineyard, San Luis Obispo County (the appellation nowadays is Arroyo Grande; standard 750 cl bottle; same wine from the 1996 vintage was much bigger and smokier, still needing time, although there could be a will-the-fruit-outlast-the-tannin race with the 1996); 1994 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir, La Bauge au-Dessus, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley (great big bottle, probably 4.5 liters); 1999 Nuits St Georges 1er Cru, Vaucrains, Chauvenet (standard 750 cl bottle). California pinots can, and do, age gorgeously. WOPN Featured Burgundy Producer: Jacques-Frederic Mugnier (Wines tasted 3-9-2008 at the Domaine Alfred winery, San Luis Obispo, CA) Featured speakers: Jacques-Frederic Mugnier; Allen Meadows Since the mid-1980's, M Mugnier has followed a policy of taking over family vines exiting leases to other producers. His first vintage was 1985. Beginning with the 2004 vintage, Domaine J-F Mugnier changed overnight from a smallish house into one of Burgundy's largest producers of estate-bottled wines, when Faiveley's lease of the 9.55-hectare Nuits St Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Marechale expired. This more than tripled the size of Mugnier's holdings, theretofore entirely in Chambolle. Clos de la Marechale is presently the largest monopole in Burgundy. Viticultural practices are near-organic and have been so since 1990; Mugnier uses synthetics only as part of its oidium control regime, and then only because undesirably large amounts of copper sulfate (which accumulates in the soil) would otherwise have to be used. We tasted three examples each of the Chambolle-Musigny villages, which is about 45% declassified premier cru; the Nuits Clos de la Marechale; and le Musigny. One is awash in aroma as one sits before the nine glasses. The Chambolles are reddish; the Nuits wines black-purple, especially the 06 and 05; and the Musigny black-red with purple highlights. These wines without exception smell penetrating but without sharpness or obvious alcohol on the nose. (As my notes indicate, the wines are a study in contrasts and apparent contradictions: power without weight, simultaneously silky and tannic, sweet and sour, this without that.) Faint background notes of fresh orange peel are common. 2004 Chambolle-Musigny: clear purplish; dry-sour Chambolle (sappy pretty red fruit, "pretty" not used pejoratively) aroma, focused and complex, notably pure; silky entry, then grips, very unsweet red fruits in the mouth, some spice; warmish transition, then finishing fruit is sweeter than it was on the midpalate, grips very late, quite long. 2003 Chambolle-Musigny: looks like an Oregon wine (i.e., dark and blackish)! Lots of legs in the glass. Reticent minerally nose, rich sappy dark fruit as it opens a bit, faint trace of baking spice; sexy silky mouthfeel, seems closed, pepper and herbs, moderate mass; finishes grippy and again seems quite closed; not at all alcoholic; is the fruit burnt away by the 2003 heat (it certainly does not taste so), or is this just shut? (Note: in the context of a 2003, I believe that my notes not having mentioned softness or roundness, let alone more obvious flabbiness, means the wine had a sound acid structure. Of course, if I remember correctly, there was a special dispensation permitting Burgundy producers to acidify their 2003's. I don't know whether Mugnier did so.) 2001 Chambolle-Musigny: medium reddish, starting to brick; clear, pure, layered nose, spice-mineral, sweet cinnamon; considerable legs; in the mouth, rich, delicious red fruit and sous bois, showing beautifully; aromatic finish, still some tannin but this is lovely now, structured and balanced, quite stony late, this is excellent. 2006 Nuits 1er Cru, Clos de la Marechale (barrel sample): opaque inky purple; large sappy fleshy nose, raw meat tones, background wood, sweet-sour dark fruit; in the mouth, big and tannic, not ready for prime time, some heat, ripe fruit; oak aromatics prominent on finish, tannic, finishes well balanced with no particular impression of alcohol and fine length of fruit. Rather lacks energy in this company, but promising. 2005 Nuits 1er Cru, Clos de la Marechale: very dark purple; riveting OMG Cote de Nuits nose doesn't (yet) suggest specifically Nuits to me; sappy, fleshy, raw meat aromatics similar to the 2006; sweet black cherry pie on nose; legs; mouth entry pure sex and intense unsweet fruit, more black cherry and stone, late (on midpalate) tannin; a transition of complete finesse to an aromatically effusive, tannic finish, this needs LOTS of time, very long but today the grip is submerging the fruit on the end. Sure wish I owned some of this. 2004 Nuits 1er Cru, Clos de la Marechale: a clearer (though quite dark for a 2004) example from the same color palette as the other Nuits wines. Most attractive sappy nose, although lacking the depth and aromatic mass of the 2006 and 2005; nose is intriguingly sweet-sour with distinct limestone dust and cherry; mouth entry sexy, stony, silky, sous bois, dark fruit, forceful, pure, balanced; very, very lovely aromatic finish, beautiful balance, this is wonderful, psychologically difficult to spit. 2004 le Musigny: very deep color for a 2004, black-red faintly brick; extremely aromatic, smells generally suggesting the previous six wines but every sniff is different, clear (bell-like) Chambolle fruit with each component separate; legs; in the mouth, silky, grippy, sweet fresh wild strawberries, sap and sous bois; beautiful transition to an intense although not especially powerful finish; quite grippy at the end but this is beautiful now; finish goes on & on & on.. Seems like perfection, although intellectually, one knows that vintages other than 2004 must be better. (Note: I took a glass of this to lunch and, in retrospect, should perhaps have chosen the 04 Nuits or possibly the 01 Chambolle; in the context of food the 04 Musigny was too young, too large, not yet open enough. However, I have now had the pleasure of lunch with a glass of le Musigny, which at current Burgundy prices will probably never happen again. The lunch, catered by chef Jose Dahan of the Et Voila restaurant in San Luis Obispo, was fully up to the quality of the wine. If he can produce food of this caliber at a remote site, the restaurant must surely be worth a special visit.) 2003 le Musigny: nearly opaque purple black; nose sappy, not quite raw not quite smoked meat, depth of red fruits, baking spice; in the mouth a massive grippy rich wine, very dark toned, sweet, sappy, this will age a very long time indeed; touch of heat on transition, sweet oak, expanding fruit; a big brawny young wine not yet perfectly harmonious. 2001 le Musigny: crystal clear, deep black-red; fall in and curl up nose, that laser purity the best 2001's have, again the carnal aromas; velvet mouth entry, then sappy fruit aromatics riding high in the mouth, shoe polish, unsweet red fruit, INTENSE without mass, round although this in no way lacks tannin or acidity, any more contradictions handy? Faint acid heat at transition, then fruit and grip, sap and fruit without end, finishing aromatics expand for - how long?? A couple of minutes? Ten minutes? Length reminded me of the very longest wine I've ever tasted, a 2001 DRC Echezeaux I was still tasting at the other end of the tunnel miles from the restaurant several years ago. J.-F. Mugnier: vine age submerges sub-ideal selection of plant material. Translation: we have a number of clones and rootstocks in the vineyard that we would not choose today, but we're certainly not removing 50-year-old vines to plant something else.