Browse Tag

pinot noir

Hello to Pa, too

Haisma 2007 Gevrey-Chambertin (Burgundy) – Dark fruit, though far from opaque, with the slender musculature of a runner. Mushroom dust, some earth. There’s wood, yes, but it’s young Burgundy. Wood’s not uncommon at this stage. Structurally sound. I’ve never heard of this guy, but on a sample size of one, he might be worth watching. (3/11)

Keller instinct

Keller 2005 Spätburgunder “Selection” 38 07 (Baden) – Light-minded, with soft red fruit both yielding and a little plush despite an enveloping tan minerality. Just a touch of brett. Really quite beautiful and approachable, though it’s not blessed with much complexity. Maybe that will come. (3/11)

Polo

Vercesi del Castellazzo 2009 Oltrepò Pavese Pinot Nero “Gugiarolo” (Lombardy) – A white made from pinot noir. Extremely aromatic. Not lurid, just heady. Along with crushed flowers and squeezed fruits goes a satiny texture that drifts back and forth across the border between tactility and adhesion. Just manages to avoid be heavy. Quite attractive. (2/11)

Proper

Tripoz 2009 Mâcon Serrières Rouge “La Prim’Heure” (Mâcon) – Very earthen, which flows through otherwise evergreen boughs and surprisingly dark berries. Acidity supports the entire edifice. Not exactly “lively,” but long and confident. (2/11)

Lots o’castle

Vercesi del Castellazzo 2008 Oltrepò Pavese Pinot Nero “Gugiarolo” (Lombardy) – I have, of late, been drinking through rather a quantity of white nebbiolo. And so here those crazy folks in Lombardy are with a white pinot noir. Well, it’s probably more pinot noir-like than the white nebbiolo is nebbiolo-like, in that it hasn’t shed all the structural and aromatic clues that attend to its redder form. It’s quite floral, a little earthy, and a nice, round burst of mouthfruit. And…it’s white. It is, to be frank, a little odd. Also, I wonder if there’s been some closure-related degradation, because the finish arrives allofasuddenwhere’dthewinego quick. Other bottles, or a more recent vintage, could be better. (2/11)

Can I get a Witness?

Witness Tree 2008 Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley) – Blocky. Tiny berries, but rather than being concentrated and explosive with flavor, they’re just chewy and hard to clear from the palate. Aromatically numb, despite occasional spritzes of blood orange flower. There’s a lot of anonymous fruit, but it’s clipped and lifeless, and the finish isn’t worth much notice. (2/11)

Together forever

Copain 2007 Pinot Noir “Tous Ensemble” (Anderson Valley) – Berries in multi-bushel surplus, cut with structural tannin and just barely enough acidity, but still teetering on the edge between compression and explosion. Not too big for California pinot, with some promising stuff just perceptible within the foundation, but it is big. (1/11)

Homestead on the range

Van Duzer 2003 Pinot Noir Homestead Block (Willamette Valley) – This has held better than I’d have expected, and matured less than I’d hoped. Alcohol plays a prominent role here, dragging the already-dark fruit into dangerous licorice-like realms, but otherwise the fruit is solid and, newly-shorn of its supporting structure, shiny and globular. Black pepper and appealing, dark-thyme herbs play a role as well. If it sounds like I’m describing something made from a different grape and from California, know that the thought has occurred. Still pretty good, and the bottle’s soon emptied, but it’s not without booziness. (12/10)

Dive

Swan 2008 Pinot Noir “Cuvée des Trois” (Russian River Valley) – Absolutely gorgeous, bringing lush New World fruit into a fine simulacrum of maturity even at this very young age; while past experience suggests that the wine will endure and morph for a while, this specific bottle gives me cause to question that norm. In any case, I see absolutely no reason not to drink this right now, because it’s delicious. Soil, baked plums, fall leaves, rich morels, and soft golden memories of old-growth forest and well-tilled earth. I could drink a case of this, and still be on my feet…Joni Metaphorically-speaking. (11/10)