2008 Whale River, Pinot Noir, Wairarapa, New Zealand

Terry post:

It has been several weeks since my wife and I got away for a short weekend vacation to Southern Maryland. The two highlights of the overnight trip were a visit to the Port of Leonardtown Winery and a $6 wine tasting at Blue Wind Gourmet.

Blue Wind Gourmet was a wonderful surprise as they were featuring a wine tasting of ten or eleven selections - I stopped counting after the third Chardonnay. Among the wines were some offerings which I'd never tasted before including the Whale River, Pinot Noir.

I tried "googling" up some information about Whale River and could not find a single hit: never a good sign. I am left to assume that Whale River is a brand without a vineyard. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. The French have a tradition of negociants bundling wine from anonymous vineyards and creating wonderful products. I'd just appreciate it, were this the case, with Whale River that the negociant be up front with that fact. Anyway, on to the wine...

My impressions: Dark cherry in color, not as deeply hued as most Pinot Noir's I have sampled. Medium body. Silky. Muted berries first on the nose with berries and a slight vegetal note mid-palate. Prominent acidity and a hint of tannic astringency at the brief cherry finish.

A good - but not great - Pinot Noir such as the Morgan "Double L", Pinot Noir - my current gold standard for the varietal.

Recommended.

$13.00 at Blue Wind Gourmet, Lexington Park, MD - a good value.

~ Terry

Tasting Notes: Pinot Noir

Brad Post:

The 2004 film “Sideways” brought a tremendous amount of attention to the varietal known as Pinot Noir. Famed in the Burgundy region of France, Pinot Noir is known for its particularities and temperamental nature frequently cited as being difficult to grow and fussy in the cellar. However, this thin-skinned wine grape has the potential to produce extraordinarily good wine when the stars align. And fortunately for us, during this tasting, a singular season in 2007 brought those stars together over California. For this tasting, we sampled three wines, one from Oregon and two from California. Just a reminder, each of the three wines were served “blind”.

1. Erath (2007) Pinot Noir (OR). (13% Alc., Source: HyVee, Cost: ~$15).

Of the three wines, side-by-side, this one possessed the least intense color and trended south of garnet. Moving toward brown. Light earthy notes reminiscent of forest floor followed quickly by wood smoke predominated the nose. A thin, almost watery, heavily oak-infused smoke-fest intercepted my taste buds and finished rather quickly. Simple. The rainy 2007 Oregon harvest season is evident in this thin wine and no amount of oak can hide the fact this Pinot is just “okay”.

2. Fetzer (2007) Valley Oaks Pinot Noir (CA). (12.5% alc., Source: HyVee, Cost: ~$7).

A gorgeously ruby hued, deeply intense, Pinot Noir quickly captured my attention at first sight. Syrupy long legs. Blackberry, cherry, fig, and black pepper unfolded as I took successive whiffs holding back the urge to taste. Amazing! On the palate this bottom shelf wine intrigued all of my senses first with a wonderfully complex array of blackberry, cherry, jam, black pepper, near perfect amount of smoke, and just enough tannin to bring it home! “Taste bud ADD”. There is a lot going on in this wine! Rich, full-bodied with a long lasting and very pleasurable finish. Great value!

3. Concannon (2007) Central Coast Pinot Noir (CA). (13.5% alc., Source: HyVee, Cost: ~$22).

Deep and intense ruby tinted Pinot with a satin-like viscosity suggested something delicious in my glass. Initially shy, giving a brief glimpse of the impending complexity, this 2007 Central Coast Pinot Noir first offered up a round of bell pepper and dark fruit. Captivating. Deliciously layered, first with bright black cherry and garden raspberry; followed momentarily later by rounds of campfire smoke, vanilla, tobacco and black pepper. Each sip elicited a more complex and fascinating olfactory sensation. Perfectly balanced tannins and an extraordinarily wonderful finish. Delish!

Post Tasting Notes: Prior to the tasting I had only cursory knowledge of the 2007 growing and harvest season, basically I understood 2007 to be a great year for Pinot Noir. I also was aware that Oregon was making some extraordinary wines. What I didn’t put together was how significantly different the growing/harvest season was between Oregon and California. In Oregon, the 2007 year was cloudy, wet and particularly rainy at harvest (and as you might suspect, rain at harvest time means sugar levels in the grapes tend to reduce and increase water – not a good thing for high quality wines); while in California, it was a near-perfect season. Same year vastly different outcomes! We enjoyed all three wines but the 2007 California Pinot Noirs were spectacular!

2008 Mirassou Pinot Noir - California

Terry post:

Another day. Another Pinot Noir.

Pinot Noir has proven itself to be a challenging grape to grow in California. It has the reputation of being finicky and requiring nearly constant attention in the field and in the winery to coax the magic which hides inside. Absent attention and good luck Pinot Noir is little more than a one-dimensional grape without character, depth or finish.

You will not mistake the 2008 Mirassou Pinot Noir with the 2005 Morgan “Double L” Pinot Noir. They are both Pinot Noirs in the sense that my photography is equal to that of Ansel Adams: Not at all.

My impressions: Light red in the glass. Cherries but not much else going on with this medium-bodied wine. No hint of the other fruit and spice typically associated with Pinot Noir. No depth. An odd chemical aroma which I cannot place. Short astringent-medicinal finish.

I paid $9.99 for this bottle which places this Pinot Noir at the lower end of the price scale for this varietal. Not a terrible wine. Not a great wine.

I’d sooner save up my money I’d spend on five bottles of this wine to buy one bottle of a really good Pinot Noir.

~ Terry

2005 Morgan "Double L" Pinot Noir - Santa Lucia Highlands

Terry post:

It was in July of 1980 when I was first in France that I drank red wine from Burgundy. I was traveling from Naples, Italy to Den Helder, Netherlands via train when I stopped over in Paris for three nights. Staying at a one-star hotel above a butcher’s shop I explored the city, ate well and drank well for not much money.

As a young man from rural Michigan I’d not experienced anything remotely like the wine which I enjoyed that trip. My experience with red wine was limited to marginal Italian reds and California reds. I remember two things vividly about that moment twenty-nine years ago: First, the overwhelming mouth-filling flavor of the wine and how it seemed to be everywhere in my palate. It was rich, ripe and flavorful: more so than I’d known before and without the overly acidic or overly tannic flavors which characterized much of the low-cost California reds which I’d consumed up to that time. Second, was how common and accessible the wine was even at inexpensive side-street cafes. I was having lunch at decidedly non-upscale restaurant and the wine was listed as, “Vin Rouge - Burgundy” on the menu. As I dined at that sidewalk cafe my appreciation for wine changed forever.

I preface this review of the 2005 Morgan Double L Pinot Noir as this wine is a close to any French Burgundy which I have enjoyed originating this side of the Atlantic. It is simply a wonderful wine which strives, quite successfully, to emulate the great French pinot noir’s of Burgundy.


My Impression: Medium plum in color. Intense but not overly so. Cherries, raspberries and spice box with just the right amount of acidity. Closing out with a luxurious, long and lingering finish that goes on forever. Superb.

The 2005’s are at their peak right now and should be consumed in the next year or so. Only 800 cases of the 2005 Double L were produced and it is available on-line for prices between $49 and $56 per bottle.

The 2005 Morgan Double L Pinot Noir is, at it’s price point, a “trophy wine” and the sort which is reserved for special occasions. And that is a shame as great wines are to be enjoyed in any circumstance. It is the wine that makes the meal special!

Christmas Eve I paired it with homemade pizza and boiled chicken gizzards, firmly believing that for those few fleeting minutes that no man on earth was dining as well as I.

~ Terry

2007 Smoking Loon Pinot Noir California

Terry post:

I have enjoyed this mid-priced brand for several years and was somewhat taken aback last year when the logo for this brand changed. The formerly politically incorrect
logo featured a prominant loon with a big stoggie in it's mouth: as a cigar smoker, I found the logo irresistible. I note with some regret that the smoking loon seems to have been victimized by a new logo which renders the still present loon and its cigar to a very, very small image on a large yellow background. Enough marketing.

My impressions: Great color (deep, deep red), huge cherry nose with some bitter herbal notes on a long finish. It is pretty much what I expect to find in a low to mid-priced pinot - nothing special, but also no critical faults which would stop me from buying it again. At $9.99 for a 750 Ml bottle at my local grocery store is a good value, and not a great value.

I paired the wine this past Monday with a Salvadoran Cherizo and fresh cheese sandwich. I fried the cherizo and sliced it sidewise and topped it with fresh Mexican cheese on a small toasted baguette. The wine stood up very well to the spicy Salvadoran sausage.

Despite the move to an uber PC label (minus the stoggie), I still find Smoking Loon to be a solid mid-priced wine which is reliable and available across multiple varietals.

~ Terry