Browse Tag

pinot noir

Baby Jesus

Bouchard Père & Fils 1997 Beaune Grèves Vigne de l’Enfant Jésus (Burgundy) – Big fruit, full of dark cherry and blueberry, but with a drying, short finish. Otherwise, clean and straightforward. (2/08)

Hough & pough

Greenhough 2004 Pinot Noir (Nelson) – Chewy. Strawberry, walnut, a blend of bitter and milk chocolates, plus waves of spicy cinnamon on the finish. It’s elegant, but closes down rather rapidly. This might be better in a few years, but it’s disappointing now. (3/05)

Cutrer remark

[bottle]Sonoma-Cutrer 2004 Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast) – Quaffable and a good cocktail pinot, but with repeated trips to the well the old flaw of Sonoma pinot – a confected, almost candied cola character – rears its head. It almost makes me nostalgic for the days when this, rather than searing alcohol and zinfandel-like fruit intensity, was the predominant bugbear. Beets abound, and the finish is quite short. (3/08)

Rimu vyor hand

[rimu grove]Rimu Grove 2002 Pinot Noir (Nelson) – Medium-soft dried cherry, strawberry, and plum. Lightly tannic, with high acidity. The finish is seedy, and re-softens after the brief structural insurrection on the midpalate. (3/05)

Rimu Grove 2004 Pinot Noir (barrel sample) (Nelson) – One year from release. Sweet vanilla, chocolate liqueur, ripe boysenberry, dark cherry, and plum skin. Oh, and mixed nuts. This is a heavy wine showing a lot of wood-influenced fetal fat, but there’s great acidity, and the finish is long and ascending. There’s even a stony undertone. Promising, as long as it handles that oak. (3/05)

Capitain & Tennille

Capitain-Gagnerot 2004 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune Les Gueulottes (Burgundy) – Sweet, candied peach, apricot. Soft, with abrupt fruit, and the finish is only long because it’s sticky. Ugh. (2/07)

Some people call me

Maurice “Domaine de Prieure” 2002 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune (Burgundy) – Sour and stewed. Herbs, bark, leaves, and dirt. Dried-out finish. (2/07)

Grancey Butler

Louis Latour 2003 Château Corton Grancey “Grand Cru” (Burgundy) – Pinot noir chewing gum, texturally. Thick tarragon, strawberry, and melon wrestling in the heavyweight class. Strong and over-polished. (2/07)

Let them blow

[bottles]Patricia Green 2006 Pinot Noir Four Winds (Yamhill County) – Very appealing from the first sip, with oscillating golden beet and dried cherry given a mid-level acidic sizzle. With air, it collapses just a bit, losing its way on a finish that seems to dry out a bit, but before that happens it’s a lot of fun to drink, even if it doesn’t make many demands or promise much more than it gives. Drink it quickly, I guess. (2/08)

Moutere, I’m in love

Neudorf 2003 Pinot Noir (Moutere) – Reductive and tight, with leafy earth tones and waves of beautiful graphite. Very structured and narrow up front, but it grows on the palate, showing strawberries inside a smooth velvet interior. The finish is even more expressive, bringing spiced grapes and spicier black cherries in an ever-expanding blend. Beautifully balanced and ageable…in fact, it needs age. (3/05)