When Pinot Noir is good, it can just defy words. Silky, earthy, fruity, complex, delicate, weightless . . . all at the same time. And then there is the color, transparent garnet, almost the color of iodine at times. Pinot Noir will always be my favorite varietal wine.
Burgundy is the standard against which all Pinot Noir is judged, because of the amazing quality of some Burgundies and partly because Burgundy is the historic home of Pinot Noir. However, sifting through all of those producers, often there are several for a single vineyard, can be frustrating not to mention expensive.
The frustrating and expensive part can apply to Pinot Noir in general. Maybe it’s the thrill of the hunt that partially attracts me to the variety.
Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate, but is susceptible to mildew and botrytis if the weather is too damp. It buds early, so can be damaged by spring frost. Because Pinot Noir buds early, it requires a long growing season to ripen slowly and develop the desired flavor complexity. The most complexity develops with lower yield per vine. Pinot Noir also produces thin-skinned berries, so can sunburn in hot climates. It’s a challenge in the vineyard.
We recently tasted a group of West Coast Pinot Noir at Fine Wines of Stockton. George and Gail put together a collection of Pinot Noir from Washington, Oregon and California. There are cool, coastal growing regions in both California and Oregon. Washington is more of a challenge.
This tasting provided us with an opportunity to learn a little about six winegrowing regions.
2011 Sean Minor Carneros Pinot Noir
Sean Minor wines are made in a cooperative wine production facility in Napa Valley. The Pinot Noir fruit, a combination of Pommard and Dijon clones, is hand-harvested at night from select vineyards in the Carneros region.
Clusters are destemmed and placed in open top fermenters and cold-soaked for three days. After fermentation is initiated, the must is punched-down two to three times a day until it is fermented to dryness. After racking to oak barrels, malolactic fermentation is initiated and aging takes place in 100% French oak, 18% new.
Carneros AVA, officially named Los Carneros but mostly called Carneros, was established in 1983 and lies just north of San Pablo Bay covering portions of Sonoma and Napa counties. A long growing season is characterized by warm days and cooling fog that is drawn into the region by afternoon wind from San Pablo Bay.
2011 Sean Minor Carneros Pinot Noir – transparent ruby-garnet in the glass. Smoke and earthy aromas are followed by flavors of tart cherry, spice and herbs. Tannins are smooth, there is juicy acidity and the body is very light. 13.5% ABV.
This light, delicate Pinot Noir has everything I associate with the variety, that transparent ruby-brown color, those characteristic aromas and flavors and it is weightless in the mouth. Very nice.
I would pair this wine with fish or chicken. It would be a good partner to a quinoa or farro salad during the summer months as well.
2008 Paraiso Vineyards West Terrace Pinot Noir
In 1973 that Rich and Claudia Smith at Paraiso Vineyards were among the first to begin planting vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands. Prior to that, Spanish missionaries had planted vines in the 1790s.
The Santa Lucia Highlands was designated an AVA in 1991 and runs approximately 12 miles along the the Santa Lucia mountains overlooking the Salinas River Valley. The mountain-side vineyard sites enjoy morning sunshine before being cooled by afternoon breezes from Monterey Bay. It is classified as a cool Region 1 climate.
The fruit for the Paraiso Vineyards West Terrace Pinot Noir, Dijon clones 667 and 777, was grown on estate vineyards. Fruit was cold-soaked for 48 – 72 hours prior to inoculation, with punch-down twice daily. When fermentation is complete, aging takes place in 45% new French oak for less than one year. The wine is bottled and held one year before release.
2008 Paraiso Vineyards West Terrace Pinot Noir – medium-garnet in the glass. Smoke and earthy aromas are obvious in the glass. Ripe, dried cherry flavors combine with moderate, smooth tannins and good acidity. The finish is fairly long with a bit of spice. 14.5% ABV.
This wine has classic Pinot Noir aromas and flavors. The flavors are beginning to mature, as well and show a bit more complexity.
There is more of everything in this glass of wine — more color, heavier body, more tannins, older flavors. I sensed a bit more alcohol in this wine as well.
This Pinot would pair nicely with roasted pork or lamb stew, but would not overpower roasted salmon either.
2012 Castle Rock Winery Columbia Valley Pinot Noir
Produced from Pinot Noir grown in Washington state’s Columbia Valley AVA. The Columbia Valley AVA is an astounding 11 million acres in size and contains ten sub-AVAs. This region of the eastern Washington desert receives little rain, about 6 to 8 inches annually, because it is in the rain-shadow of the Cascade Mountains. Temperatures can be very warm with significant diurnal temperature changes.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Riesling are the most-planted varieties in the Columbia Valley AVA. Pinot Noir is not one of the larger plantings.
2012 Castle Rock Winery Columbia Valley Pinot Noir – medium ruby-violet in the glass. Cherry and caramel aromas predominate on the nose. Flavors of sweet red cherries and minimal tannins combine with adequate acidity to produce a flavor profile that is sweet, but pleasant. 13.%5 ABV.
I did not find aromas and flavors typical of Pinot Noir. The earthy, mushroom aromas and flavors were absent. Nor would I have guessed the grape variety by looking at the color in the glass.
2012 WPA Pinot Noir
WPA – Wine Projects Administration – is a play on the Works Progress Administration established in 1935 as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal. It is the second label of a well-regarded (Santa Barbara county I think) winemaker who chooses to remain anonymous. Fruit is sourced from prime Sta. Rita Hills vineyards and made in Lompoc (most likely at the Lompoc Wine Ghetto). All very hush-hush.
2012 WPA Pinot Noir – ruby in the glass. Shy nose with just a bit of earth and berry fruit. Flavors of black cherries and only a hint of earth with good acidity and very smooth tannins. Overall this is a very light-bodied wine with subtle flavors typical of Pinot Noir. 14.1% ABV.
Give this wine some time to open-up, you will be rewarded. Not unlike the first wine in this group, it would pair nicely with fish, chicken or a salad. Good summertime choice.
2009 Alderbrook Vineyards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Russian River Valley AVA was originally designated in 1983, with expansions in 2005 and 2011. The Russian River Valley AVA is located in the center of Sonoma county and the cool coastal fog that drifts over the area is its distinguishing feature. Fog moves over the area late in the day and retreats back to the ocean in the morning.
Soil types are variable including loam, clay-laden areas in the central portion of the AVA and alluvial deposits left by the Russian River. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the two most-planted grape varieties.
2009 Alderbrook Vineyards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – medium garnet in the glass. Aromas of earth and blackberries are followed by flavors of boysenberries, black tea and smoke. Moderate, smooth tannins, clean acidity and a relatively long finish combine with the flavors to produce a well-balanced complex wine. 14.2% ABV.
Some time in the bottle has allowed all of the flavors in this wine to combine beautifully.
This wine will pair nicely with a variety of food. Anything braised, or roasted would be amazing, even a roasted chicken would do nicely alongside this Pinot Noir.
2011 Archery Summit Premier Cuvée Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
The Willamette Valley is a large AVA extending from a bit north of Portland, Oregon to well south of Eugene, 100 miles in length and 60 miles at its widest. The AVA was designated in 1983, though plantings of Pinot Noir (and other cold-weather varieties) by David Lett date back to 1965.
By 2002 a group of vineyardists and wineries had noticed unique soils, terrain and climate within the northern portion of the AVA. Six unique AVAs were designated in the following few years to acknowledge the uniqueness of these regions: Chehalem Mountains, Dundee Hills, Eola-Amity Hills, McMinnville, Ribbon Ridge, and Yamhill-Carlton.
Cool-climate grape varieties predominate in this cool region. Pinot Noir far exceeds Pinot Gris, then Chardonnay and Riesling. Soil types vary from marine sedimentary, to volcanic to silt.
The Archery Summit Premier Cuvée Pinot Noir is a proprietary blend from six of their vineyards located in the Dundee Hills and Ribbon Ridge AVAs planted with a wide variety of clones. Fruit was allowed to cold-soak for five to ten days before temperature-controlled fermentation using native yeast was started in both stainless steel and wooden fermenters.
After fermentation, the wine was transferred via gravity flow to 33% new French oak barrels and aged for 10 months.
2011 Archery Summit Premier Cuvée Willamette Valley Pinot Noir – a bit of vanilla and red fruit aromas followed by tart cherry flavors with black pepper spice and cedar, moderate tannins and juicy acidity. A bit more weight in the mouth, it is a very clean, flavorful wine with more wood influence. 13% ABV.
This wine had the biggest flavors of the group, though it is not particularly typical of Pinot Noir. Drink this wine with any hearty cold-weather dish. It is not a shy wine.
These wines range in price from $14 to $58, with most in the mid-$20 range. Some had flavors I consider more characteristic of Pinot Noir than others. Those are the wines I enjoyed the most. As always, it was an interesting group of wines.
Cheers!
Reference: Wine Grapes by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding, Jose Vouillamoz
