Tasting Emeritus Pinot Noir Releases

A month ago I was scheduled to do a live tasting (I sure do a lot of them!) with Charles Communications and Brice Jones of Emeritus Vineyards. Unfortunately, life got kind of crazy for a time and I wasn't able to join in the small crew of bloggers invited to this exclusive tasting. Fortunately for me, the wines had arrived and the folks at Charles Comminucations were understanding of my absence.

Fast forward several weeks and things had calmed down, somewhat, so I was able to open and taste the wines, taking some notes along the way. We were sent two single vineyard pinot noirs, from Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley AVA's, respectively. Also, a rosé made from 100% pinot noir, in the saignée method.

I'll spare you from an attempt at explaining the Emeritus Vineyards story and get straight to the wines, but you can scroll down to see a little bit of it and then click the link to find out more.




2013 Emeritus "Ruby Ruby" Saignée Rosé Russian River Valley:
Pours a candied red, gently paling towards the rim of the glass. On the nose I get some herbs and tart red berry, oak barrel, and alcoholic heat. At 14.0% abv (listed), this is about 2.5% higher than I usually go for with a rosé. On the palate there's that same nice mix of herbaceous and red fruit, like fresh red cherries. It's a touch sweet (perhaps from the alcohol) and tastes like it's seem some oak too, but I can't find any mention in the tech notes. I like the acidity because it helps restrain the exuberance of the fruit in this, whilst setting the wine up for pairing with summer foods. For those of you who enjoy more full-bodied rosé wines, this is right up your alley. $25 SRP.

2011 Emeritus William Wesley Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast:
Nice garnet in the glass, good depth, lightly pale at the edge. With some air, aromas of raspberry, strawberry, pie crust, and baking spice rush out. The mouthfeel is quite lovely, with great acidity and very fine tannins. I like how the flavors don't overload my palate, rather, they gently usher themselves in. Lots of tart strawberry and a touch of oak, spicy peppercorn, and licorice. There is a touch of heat on the finish but it's certainly not a big deal. I have to say I was impressed with this pinot, it's got all the elements in play and maybe just needs a touch more bottle age. $68 SRP. 14.0% abv. Recommended.

2011 Emeritus Hallberg Ranch Pinot Noir Russian River Valley:
Light purple going towards garnet at the edges of the glass. On the nose I get baked cherry pie, forest floor, mushrooms, and black peppercorns. With more swirling, these elements find an impressive balance. This is riper than the Sonoma Coast bottling, but still maintains nice acidity and balance. There is more sweet cherry pie going flavors here, which indicates ripe fruit and perhaps new French oak, along with a softer baking spice flavor that meanders across the palate. I think this is a bit young, it hasn't had time to develop any secondary flavors. The finish is excellent, a gentle tapering of flavor that cleanly disappears after a solid 15 seconds. $42 SRP. 14.0% abv. Highly Recommended.

I suggest surfing over to the Emeritus Vineyards website and checking out their story. Brice Jones has had a very cool life, from flying in the Air Force to starting Sonoma–Cutrer, then selling it and buying a large vineyard and devoting himself to producing premium Pinot Noir. He now has two sites, the two bottlings I tasted.

California Pinot Noir is not in abundance in my cellar but these two wines would certainly be welcome, that Russian River Valley bottling was excellent. It's priced fairly too, at $42. I preferred it to the Sonoma Coast, which is rare but always fun, because there seemed to be better acidity and a more interesting set of flavors. That said, either bottle will make pinot lovers happy and both will pair with food. I'd recommend salmon, duck, even marinated, grilled pork chops.

Visit Emeritus on the internet.
Emeritus Vineyards on Facebook

These wines were samples for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

Exploring California Pinot Noir

This year, 2013, one of my resolutions was to explore more California Pinot Noir. That's not to say I am unfamiliar with pinot from California, I was afforded many tastes during the nine years I worked in the wine industry there. Most of the "cult" wines graced my glass at one point or another, and I even was on the mailing list for Radio Coteau and Sea Smoke over a period of several years.

As is wont to happen though, my tastes changed (I prefer "evolved"). Right around 2008/2009 I started seeking more pinot noir from Burgundy and Oregon. The typical reasons manifest in my story too; becoming tired with over-ripe and overly alcoholic wines, seeking something new, craving more acidity and red fruit orientation.

Now, with the successive cooler vintages in California, I am anxious to see what is coming from my former home. I hear breathless praise of higher-acid wines with structure and balance coming out of the usual suspects, and the wine forums are buzzing with ever present comparisons to Burgundy and even Oregon. The years 2009, 2010, and 2011 have all gotten praise from various quarters, and after enough of that hype, I decided I wanted to see for myself what was going on. As a blogger, I am enjoying tasting through all these wines, good and bad, and trying to present them to you, reader. Of note to any PR or marketing folks who read this blog, I am continuing to accept California Pinot Noir even as I scale back acceptance of other wines.

Here are some recently tasted examples of pinot noir from California:

2009 La Follette Sangiacomo Vineyard Pinot Noir: Big, brawny nose of tar, smoke, plum/blackberry, and black tea. Some alcoholic heat too. On the palate, very ripe with blackberries and cherries galore, anise, dark chocolate, and sweet plum flesh. Some pepper tickles the edges of the palate, thankfully reducing the abundance of fruit present. The finish is unfortunately a hot mess, literally. Alcoholic heat that stings as it goes down. Unfortunate, because without that, this is a pinot I can see a lot of people really enjoying. Pairs best with big flavors, like steak! $40 SRP. 15.5% abv.

2009 Gary Farrell Russian River Valley Pinot Noir: Muted nose with hints of forest floor, black cherry, and anise notes as a secondary aroma. Some wet-barrel smell came out with swirling. On the palate it's very light-bodied and somewhat bland, the strongest note is the anise. Subtle flavors of dried red currant, cherry, and pleasing minerality do show up eventually though. Nice acidity, keeping the body light and fresh. An easy drinking pinot noir but lacking in character. $32 SRP. 14.2% abv.

2009 Sojourn Pinot Noir Gap's Crown Vineyard Sonoma Coast: Nice red fruit on the nose, with raspberry, strawberry, and spices all balancing each other well. A hint of wood but not bad, as it enhanced the bouquet. There's a juiciness to the bouquet that I found very appealing, as if this wine is bursting with life. On the palate it's definitely young and still sorting itself out. More cherries and strawberries come out, some firm tannin, but a lack of acidity was somewhat disappointing to me. I was hoping for a more textural pinot, this one is smooth and soft, very easy to drink, but a little on the simple side. Still, I have a few more bottles so I'll check in with this again at a later date. $48 SRP.

2009 Sojourn Pinot Noir Russian River Valley: Opens with an intense, raspberry-preserve aroma that carries through to the palate. Hints of pepper try in vain to make themselves known but ultimately get washed out by the raspberry jam. The purity of fruit was itself exceptional, but that was pretty much the only thing going on in this wine. Acidity tarted up the back end but it felt tacked-on, and wasn't at all integrated. No subtlety or nuance here, just pure, hedonistic fruit. $42 SRP.

2010 Siduri Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills: Shows some reduction on the nose but that blows off, revealing aromas of strawberry licorice, pepper, cherries, and spice. Very smooth on the palate with a fun, interesting savory note to temper the sweet red fruit. Flavors of cherry pie, baking spices, and bright red fruit. The finish is clean and tapers off gently. Overall this is a fun, delicious pinot noir from an excellent producer. $25 srp.

2011 Siduri Pinot Noir Sonoma County: Similarly showing a bit of reduction, which in this case blew off faster than in the Sta. Rita Hills bottling. Beyond that, plenty of deliciously tart red fruit, cherry Jolly Rancher, and a bit of wood. On the palate I found this somewhat plain but not lacking for sheer "yum" factor. Lots of flavors of ripe red fruit - think strawberry and raspberry - which themselves have great acidity. Beyond that though, there isn't much going on. $28 srp.

2011 Siduri Pinot Noir Russian River Valley: Very funky at first, showing cola and stem aromas mixed with black cherry and spices. Plenty of ripe fruit starts things on the palate but those flavors are quickly balanced out by some complex wood and spice notes, and an earthy black peppercorn flavor that I was thoroughly enjoying. Lots of funk shows on the palate too but not in a bad way, it fits into the complex nature of this wine. Delicious stuff for under $25 srp.

2011 Hahn Winery Nicky Hahn Pinot Noir California: Pours a beautifully vibrant ruby color in the glass, a testament to its youth. The nose is full of ripe, jammy cherry preserves, baking spice, some woodsy aromas, and a touch of earth. Cherry jam dominates the palate, providing a soft, rich mouthfeel. The baking spices come out to play a little bit on the finish, which in itself is nice if a bit short. 100% pinot noir, according to the data sheet I have. 14.5% abv. $14 retail.

2010 Garnet Vineyards Pinot Noir Carneros: Loads of raspberry and strawberry aromas followed by a bit of white pepper spices. I think there's a bit of funk here too, some nail-polish remover came out as the wine warmed up. I think this pinot is very varietally correct on the palate, with light red fruit, peppery spice, hints of earthy funk, and lots of acidity. The finish is medium length, tapering off nicely, however, the bottle was open about five hours before the finish got to be any reasonable length. It might need a bit of age or an hour in a decanter before it shows all its facets. 13.5% abv. $19 retail.

2009 High Flyer Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands: Immediately I noticed the alcohol on this wine, which seems to fight with intense red fruit aromas and spice. There's a bit of volatile acidity but to me it adds an interetsing facet. Plenty of spicy red cherry and raspberry on the palate, along with a healthy dose of oak. I liked the finish here, after about four hours, because it was so smooth and gentle. Overall, a solid bottle of pinot noir from a producer I've never tasted. $36 srp.

The Siduri wines were the most complete out of any on this list, which just goes to prove that price doesn't always matter. I will contend though that it does matter to some extent whenever you deal with a grape as finicky as pinot noir. Still, the rest of the wines showed themselves quite well at their price points. Admittedly I struggled a little bit with the Sojourn wines, given their critical acclaim, but I suspect I need to get used to that style and perhaps better understand the regions which they come from.

If the above list is any indication, 2013 will be a fun year for me as I continue to explore California Pinot Noir. Keep checking back through the months as I will keep posting whenever I get a nice sample size of wines to taste.

Many of these wines were samples for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

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

Von Holt Wines Should Be On Your Radar

When a former Secret Service agent, having served for over 20 years, retires and starts making wine, people are going to notice. Having a unique story helps creates authenticity, which in turn helps garner respect. Of course it goes without saying that the wine (in this case) must also be good. Von Holt Wines, started by Chris Von Holt and Pamela Miller, is garnering respect, due in part to their authentic wines.

Von Holt Wines is a new player in San Francisco's urban winery scene. Chris sources grapes from the coolest regions of the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast with the goal of creating wines that are textured, compelling, and authentic. Sure, that sounds like old hat, every producer makes those claims, but not nearly as many follow through. I got the chance to see if the Von Holt lineup was truly living up to it's claims, and after the fold I'll explain my findings.

I was sent three bottles of the current Von Holt releases, a couple of 2008 syrahs from Hoppe-Kelly Vineyard and Old Lakeville Vineyards, respectively, as well as the 2009 Suacci Vineyard Pinot Noir. Hoppe-Kelly is located in the Russian River Valley and Old Lakeville is in the enormous Sonoma Coast appellations. Suacci Vineyard is also in the Sonoma Coast AVA. I should also note that those are the first ever releases from the Von Holt label.

To emphasize how small Von Holt Wines' production is, here are the numbers; in 2008, the Hoppe-Kelly syrah was at 75 cases, as was the 2008 Old Lakeville. The Suacci pinot noir was producer in greater numbers, all of 225 cases. Not a lot of wine, to say the least.

2009 Von Holt Suacci Vineyard Pinot Noir: From the much-heralded 2009 vintage, this pours a beautiful ruby color that lightens towards the edges of the glass. It's got a mouthwatering bouquet of strawberry Jolly Rancher, earth, baking spice, and black tea. I noticed that the more this pinot sat in my glass, the better it smelled. On the palate, the Von Holt impresses with it's balanced flavors of red fruit and earth. There is ample acidity, creating a beautiful structure that should support the wine over the next ten years. Perhaps one of the most enjoyable pinot noirs you can buy right now. 13.3% abv. Price: $42.

2008 Von Holt Hoppe-Kelly Vineyard Syrah: This vintage is often cited as a great one for thicker skinned grapes like syrah, cabernet sauvignon, and zinfandel. I couldn't agree more. This 2008 pours a ruby-garnet, paling towards the edges of the glass. The bouquet is typical cool-climate syrah, with lots of peppery spice and black fruit, tar, and oak that threatens to dominate. That said, the oak will recede with time in the glass and/or more bottle age. On the palate, a well balanced mix of ripe blackberry and blueberry flavors bounce off earth and pepper notes. There's acidity in abundance, helping restrain all that ripe fruit. This is really good California syrah, especially considering the price. 14.2% abv. Price: $20.

2008 Von Holt Old Lakewood Vineyard Syrah: Pours a more consistent dark-garnet in the glass compared to the Hoppe-Kelly Vineyard bottling. Aromas of fresh baked pie, oak, and black peppercorn. The palate is bursting with cherry and blackberries that only get pulled back by that effective cool-climate acidity. A fine-grained tannin is present but never becomes bothersome, rather, it integrates well with the finish, creating a nice tapering effect that I love. When people rag on California syrah, this is what I wish they'd drink. It's a mind-changer, with the balance needed to pair beautifully with food. 14.3% abv. Price: $30




After tasting through the Von Holt wines I was struck by how delicious they were, for one. Also, I noticed that the wines exhibited a sense of balance and completeness. To explain, that means that while the ripe fruit flavors are present, each bottling possess enough acidity to prevent them from developing into fruit bombs. This is especially appreciated in the syrahs, which too often are overripe, sweet concoctions. Each wine had it's own personality, lending further credibility to our question of authenticity.

By sourcing good fruit combined with the skills of winemaker John Fones and adviser Ed Kurtzman, Chris Von Holt and Pamela Miller have created some outstanding examples of cool climate California red wines. Each wine I reviewed gets my highest recommendation, and I urge you to act fast. When last talked to, Chris said that all three of these bottlings were running out quickly. That's not surprising though, given the level of quality.

Oh, and check out those alcohol levels. That, folks, is how you make wine that's both full flavored AND balanced.

Von Holt wines is on Twitter: @VonHoltWines and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vonholtwines

These wines were received as media samples.

Happy Easter!

Beau Carufel

Thanksgiving Pinot Noir

In lieu of a "Drink _______ on Thanksgiving" type of post, I'm going to suggest a few wines that you, gentle reader, may or may not want to seek out on that last-minute shopping trip. I certainly won't tell you what to drink because we all have different taste preferences. Thanksgiving is usually about gut busting quantities of food crammed down our feeding holes, followed by intensely lethargic periods spent watching Americans beat the crap out of each other on TV, while wearing pads of course. Why add to the stress of preparing a mammoth feast by worrying about which wine to pair with what food?

For this post, I'll highlight some pinot noir's that are easy to find and quite good, as well as being reasonably priced. First though, my view on why pinot noir is a nice pairing with turkey and the assorted side dishes we gorge ourselves on each November. With the plethora of dishes weighing down the table, finding a perfect catch-all wine is impossible. For simplicity's, I suggest a high acid wine, specifically a high acid red wine like pinot noir.

There you have it, my suggestion for this year's Thanksgiving. I like to go with red wines because they have a bit of muscle behind them, and when paired with some acid, can still retain a lightness that won't contribute to weighing down your stomach like that pecan pie will. And by the way, I love pie. There are other options, I've seen bloggers recommend everything from Barolo to Zinfandel. If those are more your style, go with them and enjoy!

Here are three pinot noir selections that might interest you, at price points under $40, from three regions around the world that produce consistently excellent wine. They were all sent as samples for me to review. The imported wines are brought in by WJ Deutsch & Sons.

1. 2009 The Crossings Awatere Valley Pinot Noir Marlborough - This Kiwi beauty comes in at under $20 and only 13.0% alcohol by volume. There are notes of cola, baking spices, dried cherry, and cranberry on the nose along with just a hint of white pepper. I tasted ripe red fruit, a hint of cedar, more of that white pepper, and some nicely integrated mushroom flavors. The finish is clean and precise, leaving your palate ready for the next bite of food. I liked the acidity because it kept the wine light and easy to drink, yet the mix of cherry, pepper, and cedar made for some interesting flavors within my glass. I think it would hold up well under the onslaught of turkey and stuffing.

2. 2010 Llai Llai Pinot Noir Bio Bio Valley - Hailing from Chile, we get another low alcohol (13.5%) pinot noir. At a suggested price of $12.99, this was the least expensive of the pinot selections I was sent to taste through. Noticeably riper nose, with aromas of black earth, sun dried tomato, red cherry preserves, oak, and a touch of rhubarb. Compared to the Crossings, the Llai Llai is a softer, fruitier pinot. I tasted raspberry and cherry notes, some oak, a touch of spice, and a nicely integrated tannin. Everything was well integrated, unfortunately the finish was a little too short and abrupt. That said, the pinot still retained a light mouthfeel and I wouldn't minding having it with sweet potatoes or stuffing with bacon.

3. 2009 Sonoma Coast Vineyard Pinot Noir Freestone Hills - Hailing from the Sonoma Coast AVA, this is the most expensive pinot noir in the lineup with a suggested retail of $40. Unfortunately it's also the booziest, coming in at 14.3% abv. Aromatically I think I liked this the most, as it was expressing more intensity across the bouquet than the previous wines.  There was a lovely strawberry jam component that wove through the aromatic palette, along with red licorice, dusty earth, and some cola notes. All together very pleasant though I did get a touch of heat right at the back of my throat. Wild strawberry and raspberry along with black cherry come through on the palate, the acid does a great job of restraining those fruit flavors though, which in turn leads to a nice peppery finish. Some oak does show but it's minimal and overall this wine is very nicely balanced.

These three pinot noirs are all of good quality and fairly priced, I'd be happy with each of them at Thanksgiving. Check your local wine shop or wine-searcher.com for listing of who might carry the labels in your neighborhood. Lastly, remember that Thanksgiving shouldn't be a time of year to stress out about wine pairings. I figure that since you already have enough on your plate (bad pun alert!), the wine should help ease that stress.

One final note for those of you who prefer white wines to red wines, my personal preference is a riesling, like the 2010 Weingut Ackermann or 2010 Cornerstone Napa bottlings. If you're more adventurous, try to find a riesling from the Finger Lakes region of New York or a fine New Zealand label like Mt. Beautiful or True & Daring.

Don't forget sparkling wine either, be it a Prosecco, Champagne, Cava, or Sekt. Open whatever you want and enjoy it with your friends, family, and guests. Yes, that includes your Mother in Law...

Happy Thanksgiving!

These wines were press samples for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

A Quick and Dirty Recap of the 2011 #PinotSmackdown

Where were you last night? If you're a wine lover, specifically a pinot noir lover, you should have been drinking the stuff! Last night, Thursday August 18th, marked the second annual "Pinot Smackdown". This unique event, started by infamous wine bloggers Ed Thralls and Joe Herrig, is a massive online tasting of pinot noir from around the world. The goal, to find a winner among the world's pinot regions, by popular acclaim, instead of having some critic appoint a region as the best in the world. Cause we all know that critics suck, right?

I'll repost the official details right here, so that you can see what you missed. *Evil laugh*
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#PinotSmackdown is an all-day global celebration of the world's most expressive wine grape combined with a knock-down, drag-out cage fight between YOUR FAVORITE Pinot-producing regions!

TIME: 24 hours in order to give everyone time to share a glass when it makes sense in their time zone.

This event is FREE and all you need to participate is wine and Twitter, Facebook or your favorite social channel. Everyone is encouraged to invite wine lovers to your location and make the Twitter stream of #PinotSmackdown tweets visible to attendees. We like to use Tweetdeck, TweetChat.com or Twitterfall.com to display all the tweets with the hashtag "#PinotSmackdown"
Here's the twist!... who makes the best Pinot you've ever tasted? To vote via your tweets simply add another 2-character hashtag after #PinotSmackdown and we'll count the votes so that region gets bragging rights for the night!
Voting region hashtags:
#OR - Oregon
#CA - California
#WA - Washington
#NY - New York
#46 - U.S. The "Other 46," outside of the Big Four
#FR - France
#IT - Italy
#DE - Germany (Deutschland)
#EU - Europe, beyond France, Germany, Italy
#CN - Canada
#NZ - New Zealand
#CH - Chile
#AR - Argentina
#AU - Australia
#SA - South Africa
#WD - World, as in none previously listed
For example, if you are drinking a Pinot from a region in California, simply tag the end of your tweets with: #PinotSmackdown #CA
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Very simple, I agree, but incredibly fun and a great way to get some people together for a night of wine and discussion.

About two weeks before the event, Ed reached out to myself and a handful of other wine bloggers with a trifecta of pinot noir samples from the Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley AVA's. Those were:
2009 Sonoma Coast Vineyards Freestone Hills - $40 SRP
2009 Windsor Sonoma Russian River Valley - $30 SRP
2010 Windsor Vineyards Pinot Noir, Sonoma County - $28 SRP
These were all wines from the Vintage Wine Estates portfolio. As a disclaimer, Ed works for them and they were a huge backer for the Pinot Smackdown.

In addition to those California (specifically, Sonoma County) pinot noirs, I opened a 2007 Kramer Vineyards Cardiac Hill pinot from Oregon to throw some contrasting style into the mix. The Kramers were hosting an event at The Friendly Vine in Forest Grove, Oregon. Apparently (according to Becky Kramer at least), the event was a real hit.

With those four pinot noirs, I was ready to go. While I could have also opened other pinots, including some great stuff from Burgundy and New Zealand, I wanted to keep it somewhat under control. I mean, I didn't want to get absolutely hammered while tasting and tweeting. Drunken tweeting, while fun, can be dangerous.

Here are the tasting notes on the four pinots I sampled last night:

2010 Windsor Vineyards Sonoma County pinot noir: Bright acid but disjointed and unbalanced. Very young and it shows. Needs time to settle down. Ripe, sweet strawberry fights with baking spices and surprisingly thick tannin. Cranberries try to come play but are smacked around and leave in tears. Perhaps a few years in the bottle will settle this wine out, perhaps not. Hardly any finish, just disappears from my palate. Tastes cobbled together, which it was. 14.5% abv.

2009 Windsor Sonoma Russian River valley pinot noir: Soft, ripe, rich, and brimming with the flavors that American oak barrels impart. This is one of those pinots that stand up well on their own due to the sheer ripeness of the fruit. Like a strawberry fruit roll-up. That's how ripe and oaky this Russian River Valley pinot is. Imagine eating vanilla-buttered raspberry/strawberry toast. If you really dig fruiter, softer pinot noir, I bet you'd love this.. 14.5% abv.

2009 Sonoma Coast Vineyards Freestone Hill pinot noir: Here we go, bright acid, restrained berry fruits, and silky tannin. Each of those three elements are in balance, creating a very nice, smooth, light mouthfeel. I liked the wild strawberry tartness mixed with a bit of raspberry puree. Both of those added depth to the mid-palate. A warm, happy baking spice flavor brought a smile to my face. While this pinot did see oak barrel aging via American oak, the effect here is merely to add dimension versus squashing the acid like in the other two California wines. 14.3% abv.

2007 Kramer Vineyards Cardiac Hill Yamhill-Carlton pinot noir: Compared to the first three, this is in another part of the pinot spectrum. Earth and sour cherry show through, supported by fresh cranberry and a bit of peppery spice. Here and there, cigar-box and a hint of plum skin make tiny impressions across the mid-palate. The '07 Kramer Vineyard had a lightness to it that reminded me of a Côte de Beaune. The tannins were nicely integrated and firm enough to give this pinot noir structure and balance. A wholly different expression of the grape but one that's perhaps focused more on terroir and less on using oak and other techniques to create a wine. 12.8% abv.

What was my favorite? I picked the 2009 Freestone Hill from Sonoma Coast Vineyards last night as the "winner". The balance was impressive and no part (flavor, tannin, acid) of this wine felt muted. The winemaker used a deft touch to express the terroir of this particular vineyard. Sure, it's $40 a bottle, but that's right about the price you start to get excellent pinot noir. The reason I preferred this (on August 18, 2011) to the Kramer Cardiac Hill pinot noir was that it spoke to me more last night. It's that simple.

Enough about me, what about the rest of the world, busily tasting and tweeting away to support their favorite region! The winner, by a relative hair, was New Zealand! I was surprised! Last night (due to the time difference) I didn't notice much if any "#NZ" tweets from the "#pinotsmackdown" but apparently when us Yanks were asleep, the Kiwis were tweeting up a storm. Congratulations to them! Now let's get the exchange rate fixed and some more pinot from New Zealand into the USA, I want to taste it! In second place, Oregon, no surprise there. Perhaps the king of domestic pinot noir producing states (sorry, California), I saw a multitude of tweets in support of their pinot noirs. California brought up third place, a respectable showing and only a few votes behind Oregon.

Ed posted a great recap of the 2011 Pinot Smackdown on his blog, go read it and you'll see the amazing reach that this event has. He breaks down the numbers to show how this is a global event and impressions that were generated across all the social media platforms is truly amazing. We gotta give it up to Ed and Joe Herrig for promoting and steering this event along. Nicely done, gentlemen.

The wines featured here were provided free of charge for the Pinot Smackdown tasting event.


Beau Carufel