| Pinot Noir 2007 Tasting Report |
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Well, with all the rain we’ve been having lately, it has felt
more like spring than summer. And since it doesn’t seem
like summer yet, our staff thought we would taste one
more red varietal before we start reviewing the cool wines
better suited for beating the heat. Since it is getting
warmer, we chose the lighter bodied red wine Pinot Noir
for this month’s staff tasting. This was a tasting that most
were very much looking forward to, but unfortunately, we
all left quite disappointed.
What was not disappointing however, were our gracious
hosts, Jim & Sandy. Their house provided the perfect
place to taste wines and the food, or should I say Italian
feast, was quite impressive! Great cold cuts from Jimmy’s
in downtown Dallas and homemade baked Ziti, meatballs
and other native Italian delicacies were all laid out for us
to sample. Now you may not think of Italian food and
Pinot Noir as obvious choices for pairing together, but the
truth is, that although Pinot Noir is one heck of a finicky
grape to grow and make great wine from, it is an excellent
partner with food and most Italian cuisine is no exception
and the cold cuts were a sure thing.
We did not get any French Burgundy’s in our tasting this
time, nor did we get any entries from New Zealand or any
other country outside the U.S., but we did manage to get
some Pinots from some unique places other than the
obvious states and locations. We had one from the state
of New York and one from the state of New Mexico,
unfortunately, that wine ended up being corked. We only
had one wine from Oregon, which was a little hard to
believe, and the remaining five all came from various
regions throughout the state of California.
The first three wines in our tasting tricked us into
believing that this was going to be some fantastic line up
of wines, however, starting with the fourth wine, that
theory quickly became unraveled as we tasted one
disappointment after another. One was corked, so we
could not really rate it and the rest were just plain funky.
To add insult to injury, after our tasting scores were
turned in, Jim opened up a Pinot Noir from Sebastiani that
everyone agreed would have at least placed in the top
three wines had it been entered in our blind tasting.
Despite the pretty good scores for the wines that placed
third and fourth, the real contest was between the wines
that came in first and second. They were far superior to
the rest of the field.
I would like to say Thank You to Jim & Sandy for letting
us use their home and for all the great food and effort put
into hosting our tasting. And with that, here are our wines:
more like spring than summer. And since it doesn’t seem
like summer yet, our staff thought we would taste one
more red varietal before we start reviewing the cool wines
better suited for beating the heat. Since it is getting
warmer, we chose the lighter bodied red wine Pinot Noir
for this month’s staff tasting. This was a tasting that most
were very much looking forward to, but unfortunately, we
all left quite disappointed.
What was not disappointing however, were our gracious
hosts, Jim & Sandy. Their house provided the perfect
place to taste wines and the food, or should I say Italian
feast, was quite impressive! Great cold cuts from Jimmy’s
in downtown Dallas and homemade baked Ziti, meatballs
and other native Italian delicacies were all laid out for us
to sample. Now you may not think of Italian food and
Pinot Noir as obvious choices for pairing together, but the
truth is, that although Pinot Noir is one heck of a finicky
grape to grow and make great wine from, it is an excellent
partner with food and most Italian cuisine is no exception
and the cold cuts were a sure thing.
We did not get any French Burgundy’s in our tasting this
time, nor did we get any entries from New Zealand or any
other country outside the U.S., but we did manage to get
some Pinots from some unique places other than the
obvious states and locations. We had one from the state
of New York and one from the state of New Mexico,
unfortunately, that wine ended up being corked. We only
had one wine from Oregon, which was a little hard to
believe, and the remaining five all came from various
regions throughout the state of California.
The first three wines in our tasting tricked us into
believing that this was going to be some fantastic line up
of wines, however, starting with the fourth wine, that
theory quickly became unraveled as we tasted one
disappointment after another. One was corked, so we
could not really rate it and the rest were just plain funky.
To add insult to injury, after our tasting scores were
turned in, Jim opened up a Pinot Noir from Sebastiani that
everyone agreed would have at least placed in the top
three wines had it been entered in our blind tasting.
Despite the pretty good scores for the wines that placed
third and fourth, the real contest was between the wines
that came in first and second. They were far superior to
the rest of the field.
I would like to say Thank You to Jim & Sandy for letting
us use their home and for all the great food and effort put
into hosting our tasting. And with that, here are our wines:
| Hartford Family “Land’s Edge Vineyards” 2005 – Sonoma Coast, California |
Notes – Your nose is treated to aromas of
wild berries and muddy soils, which you
would think is a bad thing, but actually
made it quite interesting. This is a big,
rich, full-bodied wine that is big on black
cherry fruit. It went down quite easy. I
believe this same wine scored either 96 or
95 pts with The Wine Enthusiast magazine
and it did not disappoint us either.
wild berries and muddy soils, which you
would think is a bad thing, but actually
made it quite interesting. This is a big,
rich, full-bodied wine that is big on black
cherry fruit. It went down quite easy. I
believe this same wine scored either 96 or
95 pts with The Wine Enthusiast magazine
and it did not disappoint us either.
| About $40.00 |
| Score A- |
| Walter Hansel 2005 Russian River – Sonoma, California |
Notes – Like a trip through a garden full of
wild berries and leafy greens this wine is a
lot like the Hartford Family in size and
body, with creamy raspberries and red
licorice accents on the finish. I hate to
attach the phrase “Good Value” to any
wine with a price tag of over thirty dollars,
but when you take into account how much
good Pinot Noir wines are these days, I’d
guess you’d have to say this is!
wild berries and leafy greens this wine is a
lot like the Hartford Family in size and
body, with creamy raspberries and red
licorice accents on the finish. I hate to
attach the phrase “Good Value” to any
wine with a price tag of over thirty dollars,
but when you take into account how much
good Pinot Noir wines are these days, I’d
guess you’d have to say this is!
| Around $32.00 |
| Score A- |
| David Bruce 2005 Central Coast – California |
Notes – Smelling a little earthy, but in a
great way, as only Pinots can get away
with, this wine is tart and tasty with sour
red fruit, but lacks the thick body that the
first two wines possessed. David Bruce is
always a reliable Pinot Noir maker and one
of the Pinot pioneers in the state of
California.
great way, as only Pinots can get away
with, this wine is tart and tasty with sour
red fruit, but lacks the thick body that the
first two wines possessed. David Bruce is
always a reliable Pinot Noir maker and one
of the Pinot pioneers in the state of
California.
| Score B+ |
| About $26.00 |
| Clos du Val 2005 Carneros – Napa, California |
Notes – This Pinot has a strong, pungent
nose that is hard to define. It opens up to
aromas of violets and basket loads of
strawberries on the palate, but is still in
possession of some harsh tannins.
Perhaps this wine didn’t get a fair shake.
Not that it was the only 2005 in the tasting,
as you can see it in fact was not, but
perhaps it required more time in bottle to
round out into form than the others and
would show much better a year or two from
now.
nose that is hard to define. It opens up to
aromas of violets and basket loads of
strawberries on the palate, but is still in
possession of some harsh tannins.
Perhaps this wine didn’t get a fair shake.
Not that it was the only 2005 in the tasting,
as you can see it in fact was not, but
perhaps it required more time in bottle to
round out into form than the others and
would show much better a year or two from
now.
| Score B+ |
| Around $30.00 |
| Castello di Borghese 2002 Hargrave Vineyard Reserve – Long Island, New York |
Notes – Like your smelling hard candied
cinnamon and quite different from the
others in our tasting. It was thin and
watery on the palate and a bit sour and
funky as well. Personally, I think it was
just past its prime and may have shown
better a year or two ago. At least it beat
out all the other wines Not from California!
cinnamon and quite different from the
others in our tasting. It was thin and
watery on the palate and a bit sour and
funky as well. Personally, I think it was
just past its prime and may have shown
better a year or two ago. At least it beat
out all the other wines Not from California!
| About $40.00 |
| Score B- |
| Rex Goliath NV Giant 47 Pd Rooster – California |
Notes – Showing fragrances like mulberry
and violets the wine seems to disappear
into obscurity on the palate and I am not
clear what direction it was headed.
Although, I wouldn’t recommend it as the
first bottle you open for dinner guests, I
would have no problem suggesting it as
your second or third. Okay, better make it
the third bottle!
and violets the wine seems to disappear
into obscurity on the palate and I am not
clear what direction it was headed.
Although, I wouldn’t recommend it as the
first bottle you open for dinner guests, I
would have no problem suggesting it as
your second or third. Okay, better make it
the third bottle!
| Around $8.00 |
| Score B- |
| Van Duzer 2004 – Willamette Valley, Oregon |
Notes – This wine is somewhat closed with
feint red fruits showing through. On the
palate there are chalky tannins with non
descript fruit flavors like currants. A bit
awkward none-the-less. Okay, I feel I
must defend Van Duzer here. If you
remember the Pinot Envy tasting we had
earlier this year, we had a vertical of the
Van Duzer Pinots spanning from 2002 thru
2004. The 2002 and 2003 both had 90 pt
scores from WS, but the 2004 had a mere
83 pts. We all agreed then that the 2002 &
2003 Van Duzers were really good, but that
something went amiss on the 2004. I guess
you can’t make a great wine every year!
feint red fruits showing through. On the
palate there are chalky tannins with non
descript fruit flavors like currants. A bit
awkward none-the-less. Okay, I feel I
must defend Van Duzer here. If you
remember the Pinot Envy tasting we had
earlier this year, we had a vertical of the
Van Duzer Pinots spanning from 2002 thru
2004. The 2002 and 2003 both had 90 pt
scores from WS, but the 2004 had a mere
83 pts. We all agreed then that the 2002 &
2003 Van Duzers were really good, but that
something went amiss on the 2004. I guess
you can’t make a great wine every year!
| About $30.00 |
| Score B- |
| Gruet 2003 Gilbert Cuvee’ – New Mexico |
Notes – What a bummer! You could tell
instantly from the wet cardboard aroma
that this wine was corked and from that
point on, very much undrinkable. I was
very disappointed because I was looking
forward to trying something from New
Mexico. I happen to know for a fact that
some Texas wines use Cabernet Sauvignon
grapes that were grown in New Mexico.
Gruet is supposed to make very good
sparkling wines. I have not had the
opportunity to try them yet though.
instantly from the wet cardboard aroma
that this wine was corked and from that
point on, very much undrinkable. I was
very disappointed because I was looking
forward to trying something from New
Mexico. I happen to know for a fact that
some Texas wines use Cabernet Sauvignon
grapes that were grown in New Mexico.
Gruet is supposed to make very good
sparkling wines. I have not had the
opportunity to try them yet though.
| About $25.00 |
| Score Not Rated |
