[wine] TN Pinots at Ingredients Cafe 5-10-07

TN – Pinot Noirs at Ingredients Café – 10 May 2007 Very pleasant evening. Restaurant review: ambience C+, food B+, value for money A. Too bad White Bear Lake is, from our viewpoint, in northern Wisconsin someplace. Bill of fare: Tempura shrimp, mango, chorizo (think there was roast sweet potato too) Goat cheese & mushroom tart, arugula, 25-year-old balsamic Roast duck breast, figs, braised cabbage Baby rack of lamb, ratatouille, rosemary jus (regrettably, no one brought Bordeaux) Flourless chocolate cake w/ bananas Foster White 1: clear rich color, attractive floral aroma, is this a dry Riesling? Tastes more like chenin, excellent balance, big fruit and acid snap in the mouth, minerals and herbs, trace alcoholic at transition, finishes a touch sweeter than it tastes, excellent length, very fine. 2006 Overstone Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough. (I’m not usually a fan of NZ SB, but this was a terrific bottle.) Rose 1: nice color; nose of artificial strawberry with a touch of dead potato, not tasted. 2006 Yangarra Rose – McLaren Vale (60% shiraz, 40% grenache). Bubbly 1: rose, medium reddish, dark as sparkling rose goes; nose pinot and minerals, fresh fruit as it warms; rich, structured, flavorful and extremely dry; finishing aromatics fill the palate, good but perhaps not outstanding length, very fine New World bubbly. 2000 Iron Horse Brut Rose, Sonoma Green Valley. Bubbly 2 (white): sweet fruit nose; sweet and tasty, high dosage and soft compared to preceding wine but attractive; clean, good length, nice wine. NV Roederer Estate, Anderson Valley. (This wine tends to taste structured to the point of austere, but seemed sweet and soft after the very low dosage Iron Horse. This particular bottle was reportedly about a year old.) White 2: at this point I had some of the very spicy chorizo and shrimp in my mouth; thus no detailed notes. Snappy mineral sauvignon blanc with the substance to stand up to, and wonderfully complement, the deliciously rich and hot spicy shrimp dish. 1999 Stonestreet Sauvignon Blanc, Upper Barn Vineyard, Alexander Valley. Pinot noirs tend not to show well in hot weather, and tonight was not an exception. 1.1 – odd light color; very strong nose of freshly struck match (another guest said “ashtray”); not tasted. 2004 Nackenheimer Spatburgunder Rotwein Trocken, Binz. 1.2 – too much VA on nose for me, not tasted. 2001 Echelon Pinot Noir, Central Coast. (Probably not a representative bottle, although for what it is, this is pretty old.) 1.3 – corked. 2003 Pinot Noir Trocken, Pfalz, Alfred Bonnet. 2.1 – medium to light color; intensely floral-dirt nose, with a fruit component that smells very young; smooth, decent depth of flavor, tannin, acid, sap, red fruits; good aromatic finish, good length, interesting midweight. 2000 Claudia Springs Pinot Noir, Mendocino. (I was surprised this wasn’t a younger wine.) 2.2 – dark color for pinot; nose dumb, although I like what little I can smell; midpalate alcohol, shoe polish, wood, red fruits, dirt, unusual but interesting; alcoholic transition and finish, fruit returns late but wood very obvious; fruit level improved as the wine aired. Not sure whether this is starting to be too old, or not old enough; probably the former. 1999 Cambria Pinot Noir, Bench Break Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley. 2.3 – clear medium purple; another dumb nose (we’re battling kitchen smells to some extent) but what’s perceptible is OK; lovely mouthfeel, smooth and rich, medium fruit level; nice transition but the wine goes away quickly, lacks flavor authority overall. 2005 Kooyong “Massale” Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula (Australia). (Not expensive, so I wasn’t expecting La Tache, but this was disappointing. The wine may possibly need more time to rest up from its journey across the Pacific.) 3.1 – corked. 3.2 – rich deep color; earthy smoky nose; in the mouth a hottish wine, red fruits, tannin; quite hot at transition, finish goes away soon. 2003 Chorey-Cote-de-Beaune, Tollot-Beaut. (May be a casualty of the 2003 heat wave, but it’s hard to resist the impression this wine might be better somewhat younger, or somewhat older, or just on a different evening. Wonderful producer.) 3.3 – clear medium purple; rich sweet Dijon clone in the New World nose with real depth of primary fruit; big wine in the mouth, again lots of primary fruit, wood is just barely over the line into offensively cotton candy oaky (for my particular taste); alcohol on transition and finish, VERY long. Despite its virtues, not special on this particular evening. 2004 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast. 3.4 – looks and smells aged and interesting; nose of red and black fruits, forest floor, intensity and balance; good transition, good length, more fruit and flavor authority would be nice but this is extremely well balanced and attractive overall. 1999 Saintsbury Pinot Noir, Carneros. (Very good match with the rosemary sauce on the lamb, whereas that sauce with the sweetness of the Kosta Browne wine was a train wreck.) Dessert – deep gold; intense piney nose, vin santo? Rich citrus pear stone fruit taste, plenty of acid to carry the considerable sweetness, long and smooth, very good indeed. 2001 Witness Tree “Sweet Signe,” Eola Hills.