Bruliam Pinot Noir, A Labor of Love

(img src: http://www.pinotfestival.com)

A couple of years ago, back when I still lived in San Diego, I met Kerith and Brian Overstreet. They are childhood friends of my buddy and fellow wine blogger Keith, over at www.brainwines.com. One day at a San Diego Wine Mafia meeting, the Overstreets were there and we got to chatting. I had no idea Kerith was a winemaker, and you know how I get when I meet winemakers (hint: I bug them with questions).

Kerith and her husband are the founders and owners of Bruliam Wines.

As we tasted some wines with the rest of the Mafia, I learned about the origin of their label, Bruliam Wines, and their focus on pinot noir and zinfandel. I think the story is much better told on the website, so I urge you to visit it and watch the cool video about how Bruliam came to be.

I always like to mention this as well; Bruliam wines gives back all their profits to charity. It gets better, because they donate to the charities that you, the wine lover, chooses. Pretty amazing, I agree!

Fast forward a few years and Brian emails me one day asking if I'd like to sample the 2010 pinot noirs they had recently released. Like he had to ask! In the fall of 2010 I tasted the 2009 Bruliam pinot noirs and wrote a feature on the wines, with each of them rating excellent to outstanding on my now-retired scale.

For 2010, Kerith and Brian sourced fruit from three different vineyards in Northern California. Each wine was nudged along in it's journey, emphasizing the place it was grown instead of the winemaker's hands. Since they don't own any vineyards, the fruit sources can change from year to year, making it all the more important to get your hands on these wines ASAP! Also I'll give a sneak peek here: For 2011, Bruliam has added the famous Gap's Crown Vineyard to their list of fruit sources. I can't wait to try that one..In 2014 of course.

Let's get on with my impressions of the wines then. These were all tasted at room temperature, about 30 minutes after being opened.

2010 Bruliam Deer Meadows Vineyard Anderson Valley Pinot Noir: I immediately noticed ripe black fruit, cherries and blackberries, warm baking spice, and cola on the nose.This pinot is big and smooth, at once lively yet with some peppery acidity. Good dark fruit flavor along with a subtle, herbaceous note. Some oak flavors, woodsy with a hint of dark chocolate. There is nicely integrated tannin, but it stops somewhat short on the finish. The acidity is firm, but this is a baby, and will better integrate with more time in bottle. If you're going to drink this now, decant for a few hours. $46 SRP.

2010 Bruliam Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir: The bouquet has loads of baked cherry and rhubarb, black pepper, black tea, and spice. I loved the balance between the fruit and other aromas. I think this is very young, showing  restrained flavors of grape stem, black tea, wild raspberries, and black cherry. What flavors are showing right now are delicious and well integrated with a nice streak of acidity. I found a slightly perceptible alcoholic heat on the bouquet that carried over into the palate, but it should go away with age. The finish is a burst of spice and white pepper, something I love about great quality pinot noirs. $46 SRP.

2010 Bruliam Wildcat Mountain Vineyard Sonoma Coast: Aromas of bright, fresh strawberry and rhubarb, along with cola and cherry blossom. Pine sap provides a welcome element to contrast the fruit. On the palate I felt this was showing traditional Sonoma Coast flavors; it expressed ripe strawberry and baking spice along with a subtle earthiness. Also noted were touches of oak, black pepper, and grape stem. The strawberry persists through the finish, very impressive. Not much tannin noted, compared to the other Bruliam wines. This is the wine I'd drink now, while cellaring the other bottles for 5-10 years. $46 SRP.



After I wrote these reviews, I learned that Wine Enthusiast had shown some love to the Bruliam pinot noirs, giving the Wildcat Mountain an 89 points, the Deer Meadows 90 points, and the Soberanes Vineyard 93 points! That's convincing proof that the Overstreet's are doing something right, and should encourage you to buy up these wines before they're all gone.

To purchase the Bruliam wines, visit their website.

Tasting the Bruliam pinot noirs was great fun, I opened 10 pinot's from around the state that day and these three were the clear winners. If Kerith and Brian can maintain this level of quality, Bruliam Wines will continue it's upward trajectory into the rarefied ranks of California pinot noir producers showing restraint while creating texturally interesting, nuanced wines.

You can follow Bruliam on Twitter or visit the Bruliam Wines facebook page.

These wines were media samples.

Beau Carufel

Bruliam Wines, Three Delicious Pinot Noirs

Thanks to Keith of the (in)famous San Diego Wine Mafia, I met Brian and Kerith Overstreet who are making some delicious Pinot Noir up in Sonoma. Here's the wrinkle: All profits generated by Bruliam Wines are going to charity. ALL. Impressive, I agree.

California is lucky to have people who are this dedicated to helping out those less fortunate. From the giant Napa Valley Wine Auction to the efforts of Budge Brown at Cleavage Creek and the wonderful folks at Charity Case Wines, we live in a state where people who love wine also love to give back. You can add Bruliam Wines to that list.

Back to the first time I met the Overstreets, we were all sitting around sipping Champagne. Talking to Brian and Kerith was a lot of fun, not the least because of my mild bubbly-buzz. More importantly though, I could see the love that they had for wine and for each other. Apparently they liked me enough to invite me to a release party for their 2009 Pinot Noirs and a sneak peak of their 2009 Rocky Ridge Zinfandel. If anyone who reads this blog lives in San Diego, you probably know where Laurel restaurant used to be, and that now it's called Cucina Urbana. I'd never been since Laurel closed down, but jumped at the chance to taste through the Bruliam lineup.

So let's look at the three pinot noir releases I sampled, as well as the barrel sample of their upcoming zinfandel that was also tasted at the release party.

2009 Hayley Vineyard Pinot Noir Anderson Valley - Elegant nose, hints of Burgundian fruit sans the earth undertones. Sour cherries, cranberry dominate, bringing mouthwatering acidity that carries through till the end. Baking spices were both aromatic and complementary to the fruit notes, and helped ease the transition into a cola and rhubarb finish. Notable flavor integration, B+ and a BUY recommendation. 14.2% abv. $52/btl




2009 Doctor's Vineyard Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands - A supremely beautiful nose of mushrooms and leather/tobacco, with hints of black cherry. Strawberry and raspberry flavors kept the wine light but deep which I find to be a hallmark of the best examples of pinot. Finishes with hints of toasted oak, blackberries, which were a welcome and delicious treat, and cocoa. I loved this wine's bright personality and accessible style. Don't let that fool you though because with a few more years in the cellar, the 2009 Doctor's Vineyard could turn into an incredibly elegant, polished pinot noir. A- and a STRONG BUY recommendation. 14.3% abv. $52/btl


2009 Split Rock Vineyard Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - Big, brawny Pinot! Ripe nose with cocoa, mixed berry preserves, rhubarb and spice. Big on the palate but held together by a savory, umami type flavor, hint of smokiness and perhaps a beef jerky-like richness. It was hard to decide if I liked the nose or taste better, so good! Great aging potential shown by the firm but smooth tannins, would love to taste this after a decade in the cellar. A- and STRONG BUY recommendation. 14.3% abv. $52/btl

     

                                                                     (all images via http://www.bruliamwines.com)

2009 Rocky Ridge Block Zinfandel Rockpile Vineyard (Barrel Sample) - Ripe and luxurious, loads of blackberries, blueberries and plums. Intense herbal compontent complemented by savory peppered notes. Reminded me a bit of teriyaki beef jerky. The finish is equally loaded with jammy blackberry and firm tannin leading me to believe that a few more months in the barrels and some resting time in the bottles will give us an amazing zinfandel, one that I can't wait to try again. % abv N/A. $n/a.

All three Bruliam pinot noir examples were wonderful wines and while I recommend them based on technical merit alone, I can also say that the people behind the wine are wonderful too. I admire their passion and commitment to wine, family, and to helping make the world a better place. Look for their Rocky Ridge zinfandel to be released in three months or so and give that wine a try too. You'll be drinking well, supporting a unique small winery and helping out those less fortunate than we are.

Disclosure: I attended the Cucina Urbana event as a member of the press.

Beau Carufel