We just participated in another online wine tasting with TasteLive.com. The subject of this tasting was Benziger Family Winery Pinot Noir. Rodrigo Soto, the winemaker, was the star of the show telling us about his winemaking techniques and philosophy. We had four single vineyard Pinot Noir to taste, two from the Russian River Valley and two from the Sonoma Coast. The two from the Russian River Valley were the 2009 Signaterra San Remo Vineyard and the 2009 Signaterra Bella Luna Vineyard while the two from the Sonoma Coast were the 2009 de Coelo Terra Neuma Vineyard and the 2009 de Coelo Quintus Vineyard. One of the first things we noticed was the difference in alcohol levels between the Russian River (13.8% to 14.5% alc.) and Sonoma Coast (13.0% alc.) wines. We were wondering how this would be reflected in the taste and the balance of the wines.
If you haven’t read our previous posts about the online tastings let me explain how they work. We log on to TasteLive.com and there is a video stream and a twitter feed. While we watch the winemaker talk about each wine we taste the same wine and also ask questions and make comments via twitter. It’s a lot of fun being able to ask the winemaker questions while enjoying the same wine.
The first wine we tasted was the 2009 Signaterra San Remo (14.5% alc.). The San Remo Vineyard is an eastward facing vineyard of 5.24 acres on a hilltop in the Russian River Valley. This location gives it the morning sun along with cool morning breezes. The grapes are hand picked at night and they use natural yeasts in the fermentation. The wine spends eleven months in French oak, 35% of which are new barrels.
The color is light ruby with a nose of ripe berries. Berry flavors follow with a bit of earthiness that develops the longer the wine is in the glass. This wine has good flavor with a very light mouth feel. Tannins are smooth and the finish is a bit hot with a little sweetness.
The second wine was the 2009 Signaterra Bella Luna Vineyard (13.8% alc.). This vineyard is only about eight miles from the coast and up against a grove of redwood trees. This is one of the coolest areas in the Russian River Valley. It is several degrees cooler than the rest of the valley and the temperature doesn’t vary a lot between night and day. This gives the wine a good acidity. The grapes here were also hand harvested at night. Then the wine is de-stemmed without crushing any more than necessary and cold soaked for several days. Again, natural yeast are used in the fermentation process and the wine spends eighteen months in French oak, 35% new.
The color is a bit darker ruby with a more typical Pinot nose of berries, brambles and earthiness. Flavors follow with berry flavors, earthiness and vegetal flavors. There are more pronounced tannins and more flavor overall than the San Remo.
Next we moved on to the 2009 de Coelo Terra Neuma Sonoma Coast. Only five miles from the coast the cold wet climate allows development of a complex wine with a lot of flavor at only 13% alc. The Terra Neuma vineyard is on a steep slope with thin topsoil which causes the grapes to mature and ripen earlier. As with the other Benziger Family Pinot Noir the grapes are fermented with native yeasts. The unfiltered wine is barrel aged for ten months in French oak.
Darker ruby color with a big nose of tart cherries, cranberries and tobacco. Flavors of tart cherries and earthiness. Lots of flavor with moderate tannins. Bigger flavors overall than the Russian River Pinots without being overripe.
The last wine we tasted was the 2009 de Coelo Quintus Vineyard Pinot Noir (13% alc.). The Quintus Vineyard is next to and just below the Tera Neuma Vineyard on the hill. This is enough to give the wines from this vineyard there own unique characteristics. The soil is a little richer and the grapes ripen a little later than the Terra Neuma. This gives the wine an earthier, more Burgundian style. Picked by hand, fermented with native yeasts and aged in French oak for sixteen months.
Dark ruby color with a nose of darker fruit and vanilla. Flavors taste like riper dark fruit and berries with earthiness and spice. More complex flavors overall with moderate tannins and a bit of sweetness.
This was really an educational tasting. Having four single vineyard wines made by the same winemaker using native yeast really showed the difference in each vineyard. All the wines were well balanced and only with the Signaterra San Remo did the higher level of alcohol show at all.
Note: These wines were provided to us as tasting samples.
There were three of us tasting that night and all three of us like them in the order we tasted them. Each one stood out as better than the previous with the Quintus being the favorite.
Your descriptions are tempting me to try them, which I will when I get back to my wine merchant…which one did you prefer the most?