Awesomeness in Wine 2010, Inaugural tasting!

Way back in 2009, my good buddy Brian and I had an idea to gather a small group of wine lovers together and taste interesting wines. Mainly we'd get people from our work whom we knew liked wine and were interested in tasting and learning. Because of various scheduling constraints, the tasting date slipped into this year finally settling on last Thursday, January 14th. We were able to get the date set and the relevant parties invited, the wines and the food. The chosen varietal was Pinot Noir, because it's popular, accessible and easy to find. Some of the constraints Brian and I came up with related to price and region. We wanted everyone coming to supply a bottle that was over $15 and from California. Beyond that, we were open to anything.

All in all, only five Pinots were tasted, somewhat disappointing because I was hoping for six or seven varieties. However, all of them were interesting and worthy of the tasting. Here's the list:

1. Joseph Swan Cuvee de Trois Russian River Valley 2007
2. Lorca Santa Maria Valley 2002
3. Talbott Logan Santa Lucia Highlands 2007
4. Robert Stemmler Nugent Vineyard Russian River Valley 2006
5. Costa de Oro Santa Barbara County 2008


All of them were purchased for less than $20, and at San Diego Wine Co. and Trader Joe's. As I type up this little report I realized I really need to do more tastings with wineries that I actually interact with, so along with my "taste more chardonnay" promise of a few weeks ago, I'll add this one. Hopefully I can find some that are in my price range.

But back on topic, here are some tasting notes about each of the wines we tried. They were opened roughly one hour before tasting began but not decanted and not tasted blind. However, only Brian and myself were aware of the prices paid. I'll also note that only Brian and myself had any kind of professional wine background.

1. Joseph Swan Cuvee de Trois Russian River Valley 2007
Definitely one of the top two wines of the night. The nose had elements of herbs, raspberry and a hint of earth, like a forest floor. Some of the flavors we found were beautiful notes of strawberry, rose petal, ripe red cherry and hints of dried cranberries. There was the barest taste of vanilla oak across the palate, giving a bit of lush character. We also felt it was very much in the traditionally elegant style of the Russian River Valley, with that wonderful acidity good Pinots should have. Overall an absolutely wonderful Pinot.

2. Lorca Santa Maria Valley 2002
The oldest of the bunch also exhibited the most faded flavors. Perhaps in 2006 or 2007 it was livelier and more drinkable. This time we tasted notes of cedar, vanilla, cherry, spices and plum. It smelled soft, like oak and a warm strawberry tart but again there was that muted quality that dimished the wine. That being said, I felt that even if it had been at it's peak, it was too oaky and perhaps had some Syrah in it. I wasn't too thrilled with it but it was a valuable tasting experience.

3. Talbott Logan Santa Lucia Highlands 2007
I had really high hopes for this one, as I think the Santa Lucia Highlands produce some stellar Pinots (when they aren't overly oaked and infused with Syrah!). It didn't really live up to my hopes, being somewhat muted and lacking the acidity I like to see. Great flavors of black cherry, raspberry and herbs, but it was a bit unbalanced and I actually felt it might have been too soft, lacking that certain "wow" factor, where your palate kicks your brain and wakes you up. To me that shows I've found something special and it just wasn't there.

4. Robert Stemmler Nugent Vineyard Russian River Valley 2006
This was my top pick of the tasting, I felt it was bright, lively, and well balanced. Lots of cherry/raspberry, some strawberry and spice along with a cool earthy streak. The flavors were in proportion, always a sign of a great wine. On the nose we got whiffs of spice, cedar, vanilla and dark chocolate. Truly a tasty and well rounded Pinot. Others also felt this was the top wine of the night, I actually went back and bought a few more bottles to save for grilling season. Should pair well with some fresh salmon from the barbeque.

5. Costa de Oro Santa Barbara County 2008
Last but not least, this was a very tasty wine that I think got overshadowed by the splendid Joseph Swan and Robert Stemmler wines. Santa Barbara can produce some deliciously rich Pinots, full of ripe strawberry and black cherry, and when the acidity is allowed to focus the flavors on your palate instead of using oak to mute everything, the results can be very tasty. This was no exception, it had a good amount of fruit but the acidity kept it in check. It wasn't really my favorite because it just didn't have the "wow" factor of the two top picks but for about $15 it was a wine I'd have been really pleased.

The question is, should I rate these wines or not? My system is pretty rudimentary but I truly hope it conveys a sense of my preferences and what I look for, so I'll give it a shot. Here's the list of wines again with the ratings in bold.
1. Joseph Swan Cuvee de Trois Russian River Valley 2007 A
2. Lorca Santa Maria Valley 2002 C
3. Talbott Logan Santa Lucia Highlands 2007 B-
4. Robert Stemmler Nugent Vineyard Russian River Valley 2006 A
5. Costa de Oro Santa Barbara County 2008 B

To sum up another really long blog post, I will say that I had a blast doing this, it inspired me to try some other things with tastings and encouraged me to keep tasting wines and writing about them. Conveying to you what and why I liked a wine has become something I thorougly enjoy doing. This was definitely not a scientific tasting, just a fun group of people who wanted to try some wine. Perhaps we'll get more technical and organized in the future but if we don't, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Thank you as always for taking the time to read my work and please leave comments if you desire, I welcome them all. If you're so inclined, follow me on twitter, I'm @UCBeau. Talk to you soon!

Beau Carufel