A taste of Burgundy is worth $12 even if it’s thin and watery, especially when its naked frailty shows a vigorous pulse.
Everyone wants the iron fist in a velvet glove that made Burgundy famous, but you will pay dearly for it. For Pinot fans the affordable alternative is too often the sweetish, plump, easy drinking, domestic supermarket brands that always seem to turn sour on their short finish because there are no tannins to balance the acidity. If that’s not appealing give inexpensive Burgundy a try.
With cheap Burgundian Pinots you won’t get sweet or plump. The fruit will barely register. But if you’re willing to forego soft and smooth there is a world of texture and kinetics to be discovered.
This wine is full of life. The palate opens with, well, nothing at first. But a fleeting glimpse of cranberry, cola and fresh spring water appears at midpalate before the wine rushes avidly into the upper register with a sharp quick expansion of minerality and relentless acidity anchored by sandy tannins. The result is a long finish with a mineral cap, tannic bass notes and nothing in between, the texture of polyphony. These thrusting rhythms are thrilling, even when the wine lacks the traditional markers of quality
The pretty cranberry, rose, and jalapeno notes on the nose give relief.
A waif of a wine, cute and plucky but with a tense, hostile streak best paired with Sleater Kinney’s All Hans on the Bad One.
When we visited Willamette Valley in the fall of 2014 the tasting rooms were pouring their 2011 vintage. I had been a dreadful, cool, rainy year and the wines were thin and tight, across the board disappointing. When we returned the following summer, the 2011 vintage was still available and many had undergone a remarkable transformation. They were still angular but were developing character and depth after a few months of bottle age. This Penner Ash was especially impressive so I picked up a bottle to see how it would age.
it is, right now, drop dead gorgeous.
Effusively aromatic with lots of dark fruit for an Oregon Pinot, it shows, black cherry, brown sugar, clove and intriguing hints of smoke and musk delicately threaded with mint notes after aeration.
The palate greets you with black cherry and cola on a medium frame, not plush but supple and sure-footed. A core of bright, pure juiciness persists well into the finish, the surprisingly sandy tannins creating counterpoint and tension with the easy-going acidity all evolving with shapely elegance. The wine has a linear through line but becomes animate at the back of the midpalate with oscillating expansions and contractions that give the wine a sense of life. Very well made and well-preserved.
Graceful and refined but humming with some dark energy beneath the even-tempered surface, building a mystery with Sarah McLachlan
Technical Notes: This wine was made before the winery was purchased by Jackson Family Wines in 2016. Grapes were harvested from a variety of sites around the Willamette Valley. Aged 10 months in 23% new French oak, 20% one year-old French oak, 26% two year-old French oak, and 31% in neutral French oak.
Distinctive wines from this widely respected, artisan producer in southern Ontario, Canada, especially the wines sourced from their Felseck Vineyard. An elegant Chardonnay was enticing, as I tasted through their lineup, but this wild and crazy Pinot Noir stood out. The charming nose belies a beast lurking in the shadows.
A pretty, rose-scented halo surrounds ingratiating cherry and cranberry aromas set off by a layer of smoke. But in the mouth a narrow seam of sweet cherry is hemmed in by soaring flinty top notes and firm, voluminous tannins that come on early and persist through a long, tart finish. Powerful but not in the high alcohol, full bodied sense; its a sinewy strength, active and tautly expansive. A bright, brassy demeanor, ecstatic and turbulent, it pairs nicely with the fraught anxiety of Alice Merton’s Lash Out.
An original expression of Pinot Noir melding classic charm with a ravaged, rageful soul.
Technical Notes: Unfined, unfiltered , aged for 14 months in French Oak: 17% new, 17% 2nd fill and the rest older for 10 months; racked and returned to 17% new, 17% 2ndfill, 32% Stainless and the rest older oak for a further 4 months. Settled in stainless steel for 3 months prior to bottling, unfiltered. From a hot dry vintage, soils a mix of limestone and glacier till.
This is another winner from Northern Michigan. Bel Lago was founded in 1987 so they were present near the beginning of Michigan’s emergence as a quality wine region. They grow over 100 varieties of cool-climate grapes including rare varieties such as Auxerrois and Siegerrebe. When I tasted there recently, this Pinot Noir stood out as remarkably expressive.
Bing Cherry and pomegranate are prominent but they show a distinct candied dimension. Dusky cinnamon helps to darken the fruit and leaven the candy; dried leaves, floral notes, and a bit of cola round out this vibrant yet cute and pretty nose.
A silken, glycerin-like texture and thoroughly elegant evolution add to the charm. The midpalate is long and languorous, the tannins deliciously soft, no fireworks here, until a prickly, peppery sensation and a hint of orange zest emerge at terminus.
The wine is calm and peaceful, the aromas spicy enough to seem exotic but rendered thoroughly innocent by the candied fruit. It has the gentle sweetness of Air’s All I Need.
You might call Black Star Farms Winery a full service winery. They feature a luxury inn, two wine processing facilities with adjoining tasting rooms,a distillery, farm-to-table café, and boarding stables for horses. They also make world class wines and outstanding fruit brandies. Winemaker Lee Lutes has been there from the beginning in 1998. In 2018 their 2017 Arcturos Dry Riesling was dubbed “best Riesling in the world” having won the prestigious Canberra International Riesling Challenge. They also have the largest Pinot Noir program in the state.
This Pinot Noir adds to their considerable accomplishments. Cool climate Pinot Noir succeeds when the juice and the tang come out to play. This one succeeds admirably.
The palate is juicy yet soft up front then swells with a focused beam of mouth-watering acidity that ascends quickly into the upper register, elegantly transitioning to a puckering, medium-length finish featuring a squeeze of cranberry.
The wine’s initial softness morphs into a gentle sandy texture as the finish launches and the fine grained tannins emerge, all anchored by that cloak of juicy fruit that persists through its evolution.
Aromas of strawberry mingled with damp earth, mint, and a hint of coffee topped with a thin layer of crushed rock make for an intriguing nose with depth and dimension. For $24 dollars this is as good as it gets.
Slender and graceful yet volatile with a glimpse of stormy emotion like Kate Bush’s Never Be Mine.
Technical Notes: A blend of grapes from five vineyards, 10 months in French oak, 40% new. Arcturos is Black Star’s premium line.
The term Burgundian is over-used and often inaccurate when referring to Pinot Noir from the new world. But in this case I think it applies. This reminds me of the best examples of the soft, lighter bodied wines from Volnay but with more pop.
Pretty strawberry and rose aromas, set off by smoke, clove and sassafras yield a complex alluring nose with wonderful clarity and focus. Despite the light body, the wine coats the palate in a silky embrace of bright cherry supported by soft, gentle tannins and vibrant acidity. The momentum is decidedly toward the crisp, floral top notes but it flows gently and is persistently anchored by the lovely, calm, transparent, midlevel layer of warm fruit. The finish is short but seamless.
Exuding a pretty, graceful charm, quietly joyful, playful but with a sophisticated élan. It’s neither stunning nor dazzling; it’s just utterly enchanting. Pair with the equally enchanting Some Kind of Love by Dido.
This wine’s allure is of course no surprise. Acclaimed winemaker and owner Jim Clendenen has been making Burgundy-inspired Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the Santa Barbara area since 1982. Since the beginning, he has ignored the trend toward higher alcohol and more oak. The world or California Pinot Noir seems to be finally catching up to his vision.
Mark West makes affordable and widely available Pinot Noir for Constellation Brands. Weird isn’t in their wheelhouse. But weird this is.
Pinot Noir is typically slightly translucent and ranging from pale rose to light ruby in color. Why do we want one that looks like Malbec?
Blackberry and chocolate aromas are atypical for Pinot Noir but the hint of mushroom had me thinking maybe we’re still in the Pinot universe. But no such luck. It’s a mouthful of promiscuous vanilla, sweet berry and cola tarted up to feel like you’re swallowing a milkshake. Yes, I exaggerate a bit but this takes smooth and creamy to a new level. Thankfully they brought it into balance with enough acidity, although it isn’t quite integrated with the fruit. The mercifully short finish continues the vanilla theme with soft, powdery tannins.
Full bodied, concentrated, and so cumbersome I couldn’t wait to be done with it.
If you like bloated, exaggerated wines with sweet oak flavor, and you’re put off by tart, thin, bottom shelf Pinot Noir, this wine might appeal to you. Anyone who loves Pinot Noir will wonder why it exists. But it’s an excuse to listen to George Michael’s Careless Whisper if sweet and smooth is on the menu.
In the wine world we tend to think of the geography of wine as organized into canonical regions or sub-regions—Burgundy, Bordeaux, Napa Valley, Barolo—areas around the world well-suited for wine grapes with long traditions of making great wine. But the more I travel the more I think this is a bit misleading. Wine grapes require soils and weather conditions conducive to growing and ripening grapes, and talented winemakers and viticulturists willing to experiment. But those conditions exist in many pockets throughout the world despite being outside the canonical wine regions.
Case in point—Briceland Vineyards in Humboldt County. Few would think cold, wet Humboldt County in coastal Northern California near the Oregon border would be ideal for grapes. But this is a mountainous region full of microclimates with inland valleys that suck warm air from Central California. They not only make good wine here at Briceland; they make world class award winning wine, about 2000 cases per year, out of their rural, hillside property near Redway California.
Briceland was started by Joe Collins and his partner Maggie Carey in 1985, the second winery in Humboldt County. Joe Collins had a hand in planting most of the early vineyards in Humboldt County starting in the mid-1970’s and is a legend in this area. Joe and Maggie retired several years ago and turned the winery over to Maggie’s son Andrew Morris and his wife Rosie after a long apprenticeship. They are now riding the wave of increased interest in local wines here. They were kind enough to invite us over to taste through their lineup (and share a killer Peruvian appetizer of grilled beef heart called Anticuchos de Corazon as prelude to grilled lamb.)
When I asked Andrew the most important thing he had learned from Joe Collins he said “what a great wine should taste like.”
Lesson learned. These wines are delicious and distinctive.
Below are my notes for some of the wines we tasted. My favorite was the 2014 Syrah from Ishi Pishi Vineyard. Since I reviewed that wine last year, I’ll focus on the Pinot Noir, the varietal for which they are best known, after brief notes on the others. (See this additional review for still more wines in their line up.
Arneis Spirit Canyon Vineyard 2017
The white grape of Piemonte, Italy, Arneis is found only occasionally in the U.S. These grapes are grown along the Russian River south of Ukiah. Aromas of ripe pear, orange zest, and white flowers leap from the glass. The palate is crisp but with a slightly oily texture and piercing acidity showing bitter herbs on the finish. Distinctive and a bit fleshier than the versions from Piemonte I’ve tasted. 88 pts.
Zinfandel Dark Horse 2016
Made from Mendocino fruit, this is light and juicy on palate, the red plum nose decked out in leather and tea with even a floral note. If you think you don’t like Zinfandel try this one. It’s utterly original, a far cry from the sweet and spicy versions from further south. Lean but soft on the palate, smooth reticent tannins with crisp acidity, and with a lovely fresh halo framing the experience, a wine so friendly you’ll want to put it on a leash and take it home. 90 Pts.
Syrah Ishi Pishi Vineyard 2014
These grapes are from a relatively warm vineyard despite its northern Humboldt location, in an inland valley that pulls heat from central California. Smoked meat, dark berry, black pepper, dense, dark, sinewy and structured on the palate with great acidity. A nice bit of grain on the tannins with a jolt of electricity at terminus, a multi dimensional wine showing many sides. See my full review here. 92 pts.
Syrah Dark Horse Vineyard 2015
A cool climate Syrah from this biodynamic vineyard in Mendocino. Dark berries, smoke, black olive and underbrush on the nose. Juicy tart red fruit and lots of hi-toned acidity on the palate, with a bit of citrus on the finish. Very soft tannins but they linger. 89 Pts.
Pinot Noir Rhonda’s Vineyard 2014
From an organic vineyard not far from the winery with about 1000 feet of elevation. Bright red cherries with clove, herbal notes, and dried autumn leaves, a dense aromatic background giving the wine an exotic aura. On the palate it’s really structured and long with firm tannins for Pinot Noir. It opens taut and sinewy but with plenty of fruit power to sustain an easy, elegant grace, even as the vibrant layers of crushed rock minerality and energetic acidity emerge to meld with the drying, spreading tannins. It maintains a wonderful halo of fresh, tart fruit around a savory core throughout the finish.
A calm implacable center bound tightly in a skin of nerve and pulse. The wine marries nicely with this quietly exotic album from Take’ Dake’ and John Neptune, but especially track 2, “In the Hollow” at 6:05. 92 pts.
Pinot Noir is one among many varietals that grow well in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. Styles range from the spare, elegant, high acid style in the Central Okanagan Valley near Kelowna to the richer, spicier versions on the Naramata Bench on the warmer, southern shores of the lake. Howling Bluff’s Century Block Pinot, winner of several awards including a Silver Medal from Decanter’s World Wine Awards, is certainly the best Pinot Noir we tasted in our two week visit to the Okanagan Valley and one of the best wines overall.
Intensely aromatic with smoke and truffle layered on the strawberry jam, aeration shakes loose herbal notes, a very distinctive aroma profile.
The palate turns darker with black cherry and smoke and reticent, well-integrated cedar. Mouth-coating with a glycerin texture, very fine tannins provide a peppery bass note for layers of soft fruit that maintain extraordinary purity and freshness on the finish. There is plenty of acidity but it’s not a nervous nelly, and no hint of sourness.
This is a complex, multidimensional wine, sensual but with a sophisticated reserve, fresh and generous yet cerebral, its pace deliberate, delightfully dignified.
And the resonance with K.D. Lang’s Upstream had my sensors gently pulsating.
Founded in 2008 by Alex Krause and John Locke, this Santa Cruz winery with a downtown tasting room makes interesting, low-intervention wines that sometimes fly under the banner of “natural” although they use a bit of sulfur to protect the wine. They look for old vineyards that are well farmed with the balance already in the grapes said Alex.
This Pinot Noir from the hot, Antle Vineyard in the Chalone AVA has a gorgeous nose—raspberry, rose, clove, and wet stone with a touch of wild herbs. In the mouth it opens with taut, top note tension giving the wine energy right from the start. Light bodied but quite firm and sinewy, the tannins enter early giving the wine expansion as the dynamic finish launches. The finesse is on the finish which becomes playful oscillating between mineral notes and bristly textures.
Lean intensity, acerbic and tense yet engaging and playful. Finding music that was playful, light on its feet but lean and tough was a challenge. Bonnie Raitt’s Good Man, Good Woman came through
Technical notes: 18 months in used French oak and demi-muids, sulfur added at bottling and after malo. A mix of Heritage Swan and Chalone clones, on granite and limestone soils.
This is the wine that launched Birichino. It’s their only wine harvested by machines to crack the skins and the juice is left on the skins overnight so it’s a wine on its way to orange.
Another expressive nose. That’s a theme here. Aromas of lemon, apricot, white flowers, mint and hints of honey, are pretty and alluring. But don’t be fooled.
On the palate it’s angular up front showing grapefruit, but acquires a lovely glycerin texture midpalate keeping the surging acidity in check. Medium weight with a soft, smooth underbelly, only to reveal a tide of bitterness, an emergent diorama of ruin at the end of the midpalate. The finish is textured, chalky, but with that layer of glycerin providing contrast. An undercurrent of apricot surfaces to play with with the bitter notes. A distinctive, multi dimensional wine, sarcastic with its pretty nose and bitter hints on the palate, a mercurial chameleon, flamboyant, whimsical and cruel. Its Bohemian Rhapsody.
A taste of Burgundy is worth $12 even if it’s thin and watery, especially when its naked frailty shows a vigorous pulse.
