Pinot Noir

About ten years ago, a west coast retailer dumped these on the market.  And, I mean dumped.  About $15 a bottle.  Never knew why but bought some anyway as did lots of others.  It seems that has tainted the perception of this wine as every time people open one, the story is told and the comments factor in the price.  Frankly, that does this wine a dis-service.  At age 13, from a solid vintage, this wine is drinking quite well and appears to be at peak.  Pale ruby in color.  The nose is earthy, slightly dishwater with good fresh cherries as well.  On the palate, this is clean with cherries, m

Well, this was one of the better values I have had in Burgundy in a while.  It was $70 on release with current vintages retailing for $110 or so.  Pop and pour, this seems to be at peak or just getting there.  It improved in the first thirty minutes and then held until the bottle was empty.  Light ruby in color.  A bit pale.  The nose is strong though with cherries and a slight earthy funk.  Maybe just a bit of spice.  On the palate, this has nice layering of fruit (cherries) and earth.  Good balance.  Persistent finish.  It went very well with food.  Delicious but also contemplative.  

This is a bigger styled RRV Pinot Noir but the fruit seems a bit less ripe.  It makes for an interesting wine.  Deep ruby in color.  The nose shows rhubarb, slight cherries, a hint of cola and plenty of oak/spice.  On the palate, this is full bodied.  It feels high in alcohol without having any heat.  It is smooth and easy drinking with a ton of rhubarb and some cherry flavors.  Slight tannins.  This probably makes a better drink on the deck than at the dinner table.  Probably best drunk over the next couple of years.  

Though young, this is drinking quite well and in "Burgundy" terms a good value.  Deep garnet in color.  The nose has cherries, spice, and slight black cherries.  The texture on this wine is very pretty.  Round but intense.  Lots of black cherry fruit and some underlying earthiness.  Good balance.  Nice finish.  This should continue to improve for five to ten years and be good for another five to ten after that.  It will pair well with game or fowl.  

This is drinking about at peak right now.  It is a very pretty wine.  Light ruby/orange in color, clear and bright but very light.  The nose is earthy with macerated cherries and a bit of funk.  Just a bit of mint on the end of the nose.  On the palate, this is very soft with light tannins still present.  Cherries and cherry juice.  A bit of forest floor underneath.  Long finish.  A very pretty Burgundy that is everything one could have hoped for on release.  It will work with a wide variety of foods.  

Another wine from Food and Gift purveyors Harry & David.  These are available from their web site and stores and sold as packages and gift sets along with their other products.  The label touts that the grapes were picked early in the season which seemed a bit counter intuitive although they likely are trying to achieve a crispness.  Given Oregon's climate, that was a bit puzzling.  In any event, not the first wine label I didn't understand.  The wine itself is very nice.  Very pale pink in color with some light lavender and silver hues.  The nose is very nice with peaches, strawberries

This was interesting and unique.  It has a deep golden/orange hue to it.  I wondered if it was oxidized, but got no hint of that.  Perhaps they left the juice in contact with the red grape skins.  It is made from six varietals; Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Blanc, Petit Meslier and Arbane which is how Champagne was traditionally made in the 1800's.  The nose is tight and never offered up a lot.  Some baked apples, a bit of yeast.  The palate, however, was explosive.  It is slightly sweet and I was surprised to see the label said Brut.  Mandarin oranges with a bit of ginger. 

This has base wines from 1998 to 2010.  It is comprised of 45% Pinot Noir, 39% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunie.  Light yellow/gold in color.  The nose is very nice with pears, toast and hay.  Perhaps just the slightest note of oxidation.  A beautiful creamy texture.  Good acidity but not intense.  On the palate, there is  a nice citrusy quality over a mineral base.  A long tart finish that leaves the impression of strawberries.  This took a bit of time/air to open.  Of course, Krug is magic and this wine lived up to its part.  

Deep ruby/purple in color.  The nose has black cherries, spice and slight earthiness.  The palate matches the nose.  This wine is juicy with bigger tannins for a Pinot Noir.  Ripe fruit.  Good acidity.  This is a big Pinot and will work well on its own.  It was need some bigger food than some traditional Pinot matching foods but should work great with stews and meat dishes or heavy sauces.  It may still get better and will definitely mature.  Drink or hold now or in ten years.  

This is a red Chassagne.  It drinks very well right now.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose earthy with black cherries.  Nice lush texture.  Black cherry fruit on the palate.  Delicious.  Some complexity.  Riper fruit than expected.  Good finish.  This will drink well on its own or with Pinot Noir friendly foods.  It probably won't get much better but should be good for another 5 to 7 years at least.