Tag Archives: Pinot Noir

Rene Florancy Champagne NV

Posted on by
Reply

Cooking dinner this evening, I poured myself a glass of this straight out of the fridge and decided to give it time to warm up on its own. The mousse is textbook perfect: tiny bubbles, very consistent upward flow, and it makes a lovely heart-shaped display on top of the wine in the glass.The nose is subtly biscuity, with a hint of fresh pears and green apples, along with a bit o’ honey. In the mouth, the acidity is spot on: it’s all fairly lightweight, but immensely appetizing, with a delightful prickling sensation as well. Mmm good. The dosage seems perhaps a bit high – although this is labeled brut, perhaps it should have been labeled as extra dry?My only complaint is really the price: although this wine sells for about £24 in the UK (making it ridiculous cheap here in the States by comparison), you can get similarly high quality house brand Champagne for $20 (Costco), or even name brand Champagne for $22 (Piper Heidsieck at Vintage Wines here in San Diego). So why does this cost $27?[but really fresh&easy]Price: US $26.99Closure: CorkDate tasted: December 2007

South Island Pinot Noir 2006

Posted on by
Reply

First off, I was surprised to smell this wine because whoa – it actually smells like Pinot Noir, which is practically unheard of in wines at this price point. It smells like a woody cherry Coke, spicy with a strong scent of vanillin. It’s noticeably light for a New World pinot, which isn’t a problem for me at all but I suspect it could be problematic for many American wine buyers who expected red wine to be opaque (this isn’t by a long shot).

It’s rather light in the mouth but not as light as low end Burgundy; there’s some varietal fruit sweetness but not much more than that, and the finish is short and uninteresting. Ultimately, it might be better just to smell this wine (and not drink it).

That being said, though, it’s not too shabby given the price point – but there are better options for just a few dollars more (or even the same price – Montes Pinot Noir from Chile can be much more interesting than this wine is). I’d suggest you serve it with Thanksgiving dinner (oops, too late) and hope that no one pays too much attention to it.

South Island (but really fresh&easy)
Price: US $9.99
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: November 2007

Deutz Marlborough Brut Cuvée NV

Posted on by
2

I really felt like sparkling wine tonight, but didn’t want to spend a bundle. I reached for some Domaine Chandon at the local bottlo but thought I’d give the Deutz a spin.

Whoops. On pouring, this wine shows a frothy, coarse mousse that almost instantly disappears. In its wake is left a basically non-existent bead. A bit like flat Diet Coke. The nose shows some bready characters, nothing especially interesting or complex, and slightly stale-smelling. The palate is more fruit-driven, with some attractive, round fruit flavours in the mix. The wine froths up again in the mouth, and the coarseness of the effervescence means this is isn’t altogether pleasant. On the plus side, the acidity seems well balanced and there’s some tasty fruit in there. But the textural dimension to this wine lets it down almost entirely, and I can’t find much sophistication anywhere in this wine.

For the price, I would expect more. I wonder if it was a bad bottle?

Deutz Marlborough Cuvée
Price: $A20
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: November 2007

Hoddles Creek Pinot Noir 2006

Posted on by
2

Time to taste the companion wine to the Chardonnay tasted a few days prior. I started on this bottle last night but wasn’t really in the mood for analytical tasting. And, I must say, the wine didn’t much suit my mood. Tonight, however, the wine and I are more in sync. Fickle, fickle me.

This wine is a savoury expression of Pinot Noir fruit, with little in the way of easy padding or obvious fruit flavour. Instead, the nose greets one with tightly held dark fruits, beetroot type flavours, some sous-bois, perhaps the slightest hint of sweetness peeping out.

The wine’s entry reinforces a savoury flavour profile and, whilst flavoursome, is very focused and structured as it opens out to the middle palate. It is here the wine’s mouthfeel asserts itself. It’s all about texture, this wine, with the same flavours indicated on the nose riding atop the wine’s structure. Savoury tannins kick in quite early and carry the wine through the latter stages of the palate to a lengthy finish. The tannins are again quite remarkable in texture but I wonder if there’s a slightly unripe edge to them too.

This is not an easy drinking quaffer but rather a Pinot that will reward those who enjoy chiseled, savoury wines; a more “intellectual” wine, if you will. It might surprise those who are accustomed to Yarra Valley fruit bombs. At this price, this is excellent value. Don’t serve it too warm.


Hoddles Creek
Price: $A18
Closure: Stelvin
Tasted: November 2007

JK Carriere Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2005

Posted on by
Reply

The nose is classic Burgundy by way of Oregon: little red fruits, dark earth, forest floor under California redwoods, smoke, camphor, and soft sweet peat. Young still, the color is a beautiful deep ruby, darker than ‘proper’ Burgundy and yet lighter than most New World pinot. Smelling it alone is enough to get you salivating; it smells inviting, like an old family friend you don’t see but once a year.

In the mouth, it exhibits a rich, inky sweetness of summer fruits, followed by an unexpected sourness, which resolves again into a smooth, rich, deep flavor that trails off into a range of unexpectedly delightful flavors, with just enough alcohol to support it all without becoming intrusive. There’s a bit of firm, supporting tannin there as well, which suggests wonderful things just a few years down the road; it might be a good idea to lay this one down until the next presidency at the very least.

With a bit more air, the wine began to develop ever more interesting flavors, with a touch of barnyard or wet earth at times, and occasionally fresh straw, hay, or even something approaching newly laid asphalt.

JK Carriere
Price: US $42
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: November 2007

—

This is easily one of the finest Oregon pinots I’ve had, easily the match of anything from the New World, and in the league of, say, Bass Phillip or Domaine Drouhin. Most importantly, it’s clear that they’ve opted to let the wine speak for itself; unlike many other Oregon pinots, it seems honest, pure, clean. Bravo.