Browse Tag

pinot noir

Wilching on sunshine

Regli Wilchinger Pinot Noir (Hallau) – From 500 ml. Almost gamay-like – though not very good gamay – with a prickly, small red fruit aroma and a simplistic finish. It’s better for near-term drinking than the other pinots from this house have been, but that’s faint praise at best. (10/07)

Santenay Duncan

[label]Drouhin 2005 Santenay (Burgundy) – The first early-summer beets (both red and gold) given a cherried brightening, with a (not) surprising (for the vintage) layer of crunchy tannin, decent acidity, and a shorter finish than one would want, though there are certain high-toned merits to the latter. This is a lot of fun to smell (the aromas leap from the surface), somewhat less fun to drink, and fairly easy to forget. Nice enough, I guess. (9/07)

Ruchottes the sherrif

[bottle]Rousseau 1998 Ruchottes Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes (Burgundy) – Somewhat rough handling at first, but the inner quality soon emerges. And emerges. And emerges. The aroma is musky and somewhat brooding, and the palate comes in satiny chunks rather than silky smoothness, but it’s all good. Just a little coarsely-hewn. (10/07)

Jacques be nimble

St. Jacques 2004 Pinot Noir (Nelson) – As with the pinot gris, a later harvest was hoped for, but the onslaught of precipitation prevented that. Light plum and earth, blueberry, thyme and other herbs, with a light impact supported by only a little tannin. Fresh, fruity and fun, this is a wine of friendly immediacy, but little future. (3/05)

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Black and noir

Blackenbrook 2004 Pinot Noir (Nelson) – Gorgeous floral aromatics pair with light red and purple plum, anise liqueur (not a dominant element) and graphite-infused cedar on the palate. Gritty but ripe tannin, smoothed-over and perhaps a little shorter than one might prefer, with the tannin still fairly obvious on the finish. Despite this, the wine is fresh and lively. A good effort. (3/05)

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An Auxey to grind

[label]Drouhin 1986 Auxey-Duresses (Burgundy) – Feeble at uncorking, but after the aeration that older Burgundy almost always seems to need, it turns out there’s a beautiful old wine within. This has held wonderfully, with a delicate, spiced leaf aroma intermixed with old red fruit and gentle, mushroomy earth. The structure is fully resolved, though adhesion to the wine’s acidity is just starting to fray and pull a bit; the right food could counterbalance this. (7/07)

Maréchal law

[candle & wine]Maréchal 1995 Pommard Les Vignots (Burgundy) – Starting to fray, with dominant acidity and a sharp razor of tannin slicing deep into a crisp core of red cherry, raspberry and cranberry fruit. Some interesting floral/earthy aromatics skid across the top, but this wine has become mostly about structure. (7/07)

Fourrier transformed

[label]Fourrier 1995 Vougeot Les Petits Vougeot “1er Cru” (Burgundy) – Shy and dried out for the first thirty minutes or so, after which it does the expected Burgundy transformation. The result: muscular, dark plum and blackberry fruit with black truffle. This is a wine with a rather firm grip on itself. Another half-hour or so down the road, it begins to close up again (its lingering intensity argues against the suspicion that it’s drying out). Leave it for a while longer. (8/07)

Chorey dinner

[label]Drouhin 2005 Chorey-les-Beaune (Burgundy) – Dark, slightly singed fruit plagued by a surplus of tannin. I don’t think it’s ultimately out of balance, but it’s going to take a long time to present itself as an acceptable dinner companion. And, though this comes as no surprise to anyone given the vintage hype, it’s a massively poor value. Update: the wine is only overpriced in certain markets. Elsewhere, it’s around $20, and thus fairly reasonable given the overheated market for 2005 Burgundies. (9/07)

Grosjean, petitjean

[vines]Grosjean 2005 Pinot Noir (Vallée d’Aoste) – A difficult wine, giving nothing in a spirit of generosity (and certainly not fun). Soil and granite, some dusty red fruit in the background. Indifferent. I’m inclined to like wines that are all about dirt, and maybe this just needs some age, but it’s a bit too cranky for my tastes at this stage. (9/07)