Bogle is one of the most consistent large producers, excelling at making varietally-correct, affordable wines. They are one of the few budget producers who use real oak barrels rather than oak substitutes to age their wines. But they gained their reputation with Petite Sirah, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon, not Pinot Noir. Yet even this notoriously difficult grape, seldom an aesthetic success in the lower price range, comes off well.
Exuberant cherry, smoke, cinnamon and tobacco leaf aromas give the nose some interest and complexity. The palate is simple and glossy lacking the suppleness and nuance of more expensive wines. But fresh fruit, bright, lifted acidity and very fine tannins that maintain a subtle, supporting presence give the wine plenty of structure and a medium length finish. Nothing to blow you away or turn you away, a good, middle-of-the-road, everyday food wine that will pair with just about any dish—at a very good price for Pinot Noir.
Technical Notes: 11 months in French and American Oak, fruit from Russian River Valley, Monterey, and Clarksburg.
Dierberg is one of the most consistently excellent producers of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the Santa Barbara area. But in addition to their two cool-climate, coastal vineyards from which their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are sourced, their Star Lane Vineyard sits several miles inland in sun-drenched Happy Canyon, enabling them to grow Bordeaux varietals and classic, California-style Sauvignon Blanc. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are what they’re known for but their taut, sage-inflected Cabernet Sauvignon and this Sauvignon Blanc are stand outs as well. Wines made from grapes grown in the Star Lane vineyard are sold under the Star Lane label.
Winemaker Tyler Thomas is obsessed with a granular understanding of his vineyards and that attention to detail is evident in both wines under review.
Pinot Noir Dierberg Vineyard Santa Maria 2014
From grapes grown in their Dierberg Vineyard located on the Western side of Santa Maria, this wine reeks of carnal, libidinous sensuality, starting with a warm kiss but finishing with some light, good-natured S and M.
A heady elixir of crystalline black cherry, strawberry, tarragon, and crushed rock, melds with freshly turned earth infused with faint barnyard aromas, all yielding a nose redolent of every imaginable possibility. As the wine sits in the glass, crushed rock shaded with subtle smoke becomes more apparent.
In the mouth, this is a robust, nearly full bodied Pinot Noir but it’s light on its feet with vibrant acidity framed by a mineral background. Tobacco leaf emerges at midpalate; dried cherry on the finish. Although the introduction is soft and luxurious, the tannins enter early and firm up the experience giving the wine an underlying, steely, taut line that locks in a trace of severity. Soft and silky, but etched with gravelly luster it manages to embody exotic mystery, refined intimacy and playful vulgarity—a wine for all occasions.
Technical Notes: 20% new French oak for 14 months, 25% stem inclusion.
Star Lane Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2016
This is a pretty, focused, generous wine showing lemon, guava and some lurking jalapeno. But as you drink down the glass, vestiges of petrol seem to be hiding there giving this wine a reckless moment.
On the palate, an expansive, enameled opening quickly finds a seam of tense minerality leading to a clean, fresh finish, with a slight rasp in the texture giving the wine angular momentum. Good length with a saline character at terminus.
The gentle, cosmopolitan polish becomes provocative and strident, a wine of extremes that resonates with the haunting character of the octaves in the chorus of Pearl’s Dream by Bat for Lashes.
Oregon Trails Wine Company is a brand developed by AWDirect, a wine conglomerate which handles everything from sourcing grapes to designing labels.
If this wine is an indicator they don’t skimp on the winemaking. This is a solid Pinot Noir from an excellent vintage at a good price that captures well the flavor profile of Willamette Valley.
The focused nose shows strawberry, clove-inflected cherry, and the distinctive crushed rock aromas found in Oregon Pinot Noir. There is a slight leafiness when the corked is popped which turns to dried mushroom notes with aeration. The barest hint of background oak highlights the fruit.
Fresh strawberry and dried mushroom hints also show up on the simple but polished palate. Medium bodied and supple, with an extended, juicy though lean midpalate, the medium length finish features very fine tannins that come on slowly adding some taut energy to the wine, supporting a refreshing, candied fruit top note.
Glossy but balanced with nothing pumped up, this is real comfort wine. Relaxed, soothing and tender like Katie Melua’s The Walls of the World
During our recent visit to Lubbock, where most of the Texas wine grapes are grown, we dropped by Pheasant Ridge Winery not only because it was highly recommended by people in the know but more importantly because the winery is the subject of an intriguing story of paradise lost and regained. While tasting through their line up, an affable, mustachioed gentleman kept moving in and out of the tasting room performing various chores. This was the legendary Bobby Cox who is largely responsible for getting Texas wines on the wine map. He joined us for a lengthy chat about Texas wine.
Pheasant Ridge was founded by Cox and his wife Jennifer in 1978 and was one of the first wineries to be fully committed to growing v. vinifera grapes, the species out of which most of the world’s best wines are made. Cox soon began winning national awards for his Cabernet Sauvignon that stood head and shoulders above anything else made by the handful of Texas wineries then in operation. Unfortunately, in the 1990’s, financial troubles forced him out of the winery business although he continued to consult with other wineries and vineyards to advance Texas winemaking. Fortunately in 2013 Pheasant Ridge was put up for auction and the winning bidder Bingham Family Vineyards brought Cox back to handle the winemaking and viticulture, eventually agreeing to split the assets and turn ownership of the vineyards, production facilities and brand over to Cox. The legend is back in business.
When talking to him about what grows well in Texas I mentioned that most people think Pinot Noir is too finicky to grow well in the short, hot, humid growing season. In fact, we had not come across any Texas-grown Pinot Noir in the tasting rooms we had visited. Cox smiled and said, “hold on, I’ve got something to show you.” He brought out this bottle of Pinot Noir he had made in 1993 just before losing the winery. Quality Pinot Noir from Burgundy and a few from California are age worthy, but only the very best will hold up for 25 years or more. Not only is this wine still drinkable; it is gorgeous. “It’s so unexpected” Cox exclaimed. “It’s just a unique site”, pointing to the European vineyard spacing, mix of clones, and and iron rich, low PH soils as contributing factors.
Whatever the explanation is for this unique wine, it was the most impressive of the hundreds of Texas wines we sampled.
Still deeply colored and just beginning to develop a copper hue on the rim, the nose is a heady elixir of dried cherry, old leather, mint and clove against a fresh earth background that reminded me of forest floor after spring rains. The palate is still vibrant and juicy upfront, cherry with chocolate hints, utterly seamless transitions unfold from the round, rich opening through a calm, sleek midsection to the lengthy, slow-fading finish showing sour cherry and orange peel on a frame of fine, powdery tannins.
A tranquil wine, nothing hurried or edgy but dignified and soothing
Aged in new French oak.
Score: 93
Price: $120
Alc: 13.1%
The tartness on the finish that seems to stand out too much was magically integrated by this perfectly matched ballad from K.D. Lang
How about some pyrazine punch? Pyrazine is the chemical compound that gives wine vegetal, green pepper aromas. In modest amounts, especially in some white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc they can be pleasant. But it’s usually considered a flaw in red wine unless it’s handled very carefully. In this wine it’s the dominant aroma note and is quite distracting. Lurking behind the green pepper is some cherry aroma but that’s set against a chemical note that’s also unpleasant. This is just careless winemaking.
The palate is a significant improvement. It’s soft and medium bodied, with a simple, candied cherry flavor. Fresh, crisp and juicy in the mouth, it finishes with a tart, citrus note. ‘
There is something to be said for Pinot Noir at this price and the wine is refreshing but it’s hard to recommend a wine with such unpleasant aromas.
Pair with something bright and zippy like Kylie Minogue In Your Eyes
During a recent stopover in the Santa Barbara area, I had a chance to visit one of my favorite Pinot producers, Alma Rosa Winery. Richard Sanford, the iconic Santa Barbara winemaker responsible for introducing Pinot Noir to the region in the 1970’s, sold his stake in Sanford Winery to Terlato in 2005. He then opened Alma Rosa to be the home of these gorgeous vineyard and clonal-designated wines.
The La Encantada Vineyard bottling is consistently my favorite. It is as pretty as a wine can be, graceful and charming, but with soul-stirring hidden depths. Since I reviewed the 2010 La Encantada a few years ago, on this occasion I’ll focus on a bottling featuring the 116 clone from that same vineyard. The 116 clone is probably the most widely planted of the Pinot clones because of its consistent yields and rich structure.
Robust red cherry on the nose is delicately threaded with a thrilling mushroom note. Dried herbs and traces of cinnamon make this more spicy than floral.
On the palate it’s rich and round but still supple and full of finesse, with seamless transitions and a broad, satin-like midpalate that builds in intensity forging into a finish showing beautiful pure fruit that persists even as it performs its slow fade. Just on the heavier side of medium body, the tannins are very refined and the acidity not especially prominent.
The earthiness and feminine quality give the wine an old world demeanor although it lacks the acidity of a Burgundian style and the rich, pure fruit is pure California.
These wines from La Encantada are more feminine than is typical of California Pinot Noir. Wines sourced from their estate vineyard El Jabali tend to be bigger with more vigorous tannins. Their new tasting room in Buellton now features a tasting menu that includes fine Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, and Chardonnay as well as small batches of sparkling wine.
Score: 92
Price: $55
Alc: 14.1%
No one captures earthy, resolute femininity better than Joan Armatrading. I saw her perform Love and Affection in 1980; like wine she gets better with age. The way the bass leads and anchors the musical phrases seems to focus attention of the purity of the fruit.
When it is right there is no finer wine than a Pinot Noir but it’s hard to find one that ticks all the boxes. This one does. It is an aging beauty at the peak of its perfection.
Ripe strawberry jam, chocolate, and smoke-tinged mushroom are the dominant aromas, with a hint of barnyard, wisps of mint and the vestiges of vanilla playing minor roles.
On the palate, the initial impact is gentle but with an underlying, ingratiating richness that wins you over immediately . It acquires dimension midpalate as cola notes become more forceful, but then finishes with the texture of cashmere, the tannins now so delicately woven they’re but a spectral presence. Yet, the finish is surprisingly long given how softly the tannins and acidity sing in melodious rhyme.
Wu Wei, the Confucian term translated as “effortless action” describes the languor and ease of this wine.
It’s another data point in the debate over whether ripe California Pinot Noir will age well. When it was young I thought it was a bit over-ripe and I laid it down as an afterthought. But that ripeness has now become an asset contributing to its pliable tenderness.
Score: 94
Price: $42 at release
Alc: 14.1%
Neither bright nor crisp , it has a slow bluesy vibe like this Ellington/Strayhorn tune performed by Allen Toussaint
For the past few years, the hottest wine region among New York somms and hipsters in the know has been Jura, a hitherto obscure wine region situated between Burgundy and the Swiss border. Interest in this region is in part explained by it not being Burgundy. If you’re a young winemaker in love with Burgundian Pinot, vineyard land in Burgundy is just too expensive. And if you’re a wine lover in love with Burgundian Pinot, the wines are just too expensive. Jura is just a few kilometers East with similar limestone and marl soils and cooler Pinot-friendly temperatures but with affordable land prices and thus affordable bottle prices as well.
But the region has more to offer than relative affordability. Isolated from the population centers in France, it has developed its own wine traditions using, in addition to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, grape varietals that are largely unique to the region. Vin Jaune, its most famous wine, is produced in an oxidative style akin to Fino Sherry from Savignin grapes. Poulsard and Trousseau are indigenous and found only occasionally outside Jura. Trousseau today accounts for only 5% of the plantings here. It is more prominent in Portugal where it’s called Bastardo and is often part of the blend for Port. Poulsard is indigenous to Jura and is so thin-skinned it is often used to make white wine.
I’ve long been curious about this region and finally had a chance to try two representative wines this weekend although these two Pinot Noir-dominant wines are only a small sample of the diverse styles found in this region.
My favorite was a 2010 Pinot Noir from Les Chais du Vieux Bourg. Enticing bright, fresh, red and black cherry aromas and soft herbal notes mingle with crushed rock and hints of mushroom. On the palate it’s ravishingly elegant, but oh so light on its feet, with its flavors just whispering until stony minerality emerges on the tart finish to give the wine backbone. Subtlety seductive and texturally sensual but very understated and delicate. The wine was made from the Savignin Noir grape which as far as I can tell is genetically related to Pinot Noir and has a very similar flavor profile. $26
The second wine was a Pinot Noir dominated blend, Trois Cepages 2014, by Domaine du Pelican from Arbois, the main appellation in Jura. With a blend of 60% Pinot Noir, over 30% Trousseau, and a splash of Poulsard this wine was fascinating. Like the Les Chais, the emphasis was on freshness and finesse. The nose of red raspberry melding with citrus aromas and sweet herbs was intriguing and the stony minerality on the palate bracing. This was an acid-heads dream, but the sourness on the finish was a little to prominent. $40
These are cool climate wines, light bodied, lively but not rich or sumptuous. If you’re a fan of rich Sonoma juice you will probably find the Pinot Noir of Jura thin and too acidic. But I found these gossamer textures to be thrilling and the region is distinctive enough to warrant further study.
Castle Rock is an interesting winery. Essentially a negociant making a variety of appellation-specific wines, they own no vineyards but source grapes from various vineyards on the West coast and use a variety of production facilities. Their annual production is approaching 1,000,000 cases of exclusively value-priced wines.
This Pinot Noir from Monterey is as odd as their business model. It shows prominent herbal aromas, mushroom, and bright rose petal with black cherry taking a back seat. The palate flavors are more fruit focused but with the addition of persistent bitterness from front to back. The bold herbaceous quality inhibits fruit expression and comes across as unbalanced although the complexity is nice for a value wine. On the heavy side of medium weight, the mouthfeel has a glycerin quality resolving to a short spicy finish. Tannins are supportive and nicely done, and there is no overt woodiness marring the experience.
It is hard to find good, budget Pinot Noir. This one is competent and unusual, a cut above the ordinary supermarket wines from the conglomerates.
Score: 86
Price: $13 but often discounted
Alc: 13.5%
This wine has a languid, quietly romantic mood that will resonate with languid, quietly romantic jazz such as Bobo Stinson’s Music for Awhile
A little context helps to understand this wine. Angeline is the value label of Martin Ray Vineyards and Winery with an annual case production of about 45000. Martin Ray is owned by Courtney Benham, the creator of the Blackstone brand, which he and his brother sold to Constellation in 2001 for big bucks. He knows how to build a brand. And his stated goal when he set out to make wine was to “raise the bar on everyday value wine”. This is a wine built to please—everyone—and in that it succeeds admirably. It is a resolutely middle-of-the-road wine. Not too sweet, not too tart, not quite dark fruit but not quite red fruit, a little spicy but not overly so, a touch of oak but restrained, a perfectly coiffed wine, not a hair out of place, but pleasant enough to spend an evening with.
Black cherry shares space with red raspberry capped with a candied note that is vaguely reminiscent of Red Hots if you remember that confection, but with the spice obediently subdued. Simple and pleasant but it develops a satisfying earthiness as it sits in the glass.
In the mouth there is a touch of apparent sweetness up front. It’s medium bodied with a soft midsection until acidity gathers and urges the wine forward giving it some length. The finish is nicely fruited and it stays so through its terminus, with tannins giving you a little grippiness and acidity in the end like tiny daggers.
Neither refined nor particularly subtle, and there is not much depth. Everything remains on the surface. A little generic but balanced and polite and really quite a good value. It’s a blend of Mendocino and Russian River fruit and you really can see the influence of each in this precisely made wine.
The 12 months is 40% new oak is worn well.
Trying to find a budget Pinot that gives some of the satisfaction of which this grape is capable is challenging. This one falls just outside what I call a budget wine but its one of the better values around.
Score: 88
Price: $16
Alc: 13.9%
Superficially candied but just enough dark fruit and oak to turn it slightly somber, its pop with a mood like the Gin Blossoms
Bogle is one of the most consistent large producers, excelling at making varietally-correct, affordable wines. They are one of the few budget producers who use real oak barrels rather than oak substitutes to age their wines. But they gained their reputation with Petite Sirah, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon, not Pinot Noir. Yet even this notoriously difficult grape, seldom an aesthetic success in the lower price range, comes off well.
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