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Tastings

June Tasting: Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Powerful Pinots…

First and foremost, I must state, I enjoy being the President of the club.  It’s not an easy task leading nine grown men into the woods, but as they entrust me with the tastings, we ultimately make time to drink wine and compare notes.  This tasting will go down in the history books as I broke the rules, and boy did I catch heat for it.

Now back to the Pinot! This fickle grape grows all over the world, but is it versatile?  I made this experiment for my personal experience. I admit my inexperienced with Pinot Noirs, but it’s time for me and others to learn.  I had the member team up to “comb the desert”. Their goal was to find a wine from a region that would be distinct enough that you would be able to spot it out of a line up.

This tasting wasn’t creative or unique.  It was simply sampling five Pinot Noirs around the world and being able to pick out the region.  We drank these amazing bottles blind, not side by side, we required our memories back track and start deciphering the regions.  I provided a score card for notes and comparisons.

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They were expressed the following notes, try guessing where they were from:

1st.  Our first wine was the platform… the color was crimson like a “typical” Pinot.  Earthy and concentrated fruits on the nose.  A nice bouquet of sweet apple, strong and powerful.  A tight, long finish.   This wine was great to start off the night.

2nd.  Again the crimson color, but more depth and earth notes on the nose.  Cherry and floral palates.  Soft body with Excellent character.  Light finish.

3rd.  Bold and powerful nose!! Powerful palate and structure.  A solid Pinot.. from….

4th.  Full-bodied with soft tanning.  The alcohol lingers for a few seconds, but isn’t sharp.  Swirls well on the palate.  Ripe cherries with hints of cocoa..

5th.  A tight tannic flavor.  Rich and earthy.  Ripe berries and raspberries.  Had depth and complexity with a long finish.  Amazing!!

On the table we had Pinots from Oregon, Argentina, France, California and New Zealand.   While the Pinots were bagged we all order our food from the best pizzeria in the world, Fratelli La Bufala.

1.  Argentina – Patagonia.  Chacra, Cincuenta y Cinco 2010. 11.5% Alc.

2.  France – Côtes du Jura. Les Chais de Vieux Bourg 2009. 12.7% Alc.

3.  Oregon – Willamette. Cristom, Eola-Maity Hills Jessie Vineyard 2010. 13.5% Alc.

4.  New Zealand- Martinborough.  Cobblestone, Te Muna. 2009. 14.9% Alc.

5.  California – Sta. Rita Hills.   Sea Smoke Southing 2010. 14.5% Alc.

New Zealand was the overall preferred wine of the group.  I suggest you hit these Pinots hard as they are making exceptional quality wine.

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