TN: Blacktongues - Pinot Noir 24/5/06

[n4sir]

As usual all the following wines received about 45 minutes breathing time and were tasted blind; after just under an hour all 12 participants voted for their most preferred, two next preferred and their least preferred drops. The panel ranking is based on first preferred votes counting for double in the calculations.

This was (finally) the first full house for the year. A number of panelists including myself said that quite a few of the wines were oaky and/or un-Pinot like making it an interesting tasting - the best and worst wines seemed to really stand out in this one.


2002 Dujac Gevrey-Chambertin Fils & Pére Burgundy $85: Light to mid red colour with a pink rim. A beautiful nose to begin the tasting, spicy, herbal and floral with soap/bathroom scents, gradually becoming savoury with nutty/mushroom characters by the end. The slender to mid-weight palate was very clean and delicate, the strawberry fruit lingering hauntingly. I thought this would be overwhelmed at voting time, yet it always managed to hold its ground in the head to head taste off.

My ranking: 2nd place
Panel ranking: 5th place

Votes: 1 most, 5 second & third, 1 least preferred



2004 Barrett Reserve Pinot Noir $45: Light to mid red. I tried this a couple of weeks ago at an instore and didn’t recognize it in this tasting, maybe because of the breathing time. Very ripe fruit this time with a distinct hint of beetroot on the nose, and raspberry of the palate; very good weight and persistence, with just a touch of dried herbs in the background.

My ranking: 6th place
Panel ranking: =7th place

Votes: 1 most, 0 second & third, 0 least preferred



2005 Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir $20: Light to mid red. Slightly soapy/floral, ripe raspberry fruit on the nose matched with slightly smoky/vanilla oak; the palate was just as ripe and clean, with dark raspberry fruit (even a hint of blackberry) and a slightly green/stalky tinge, becoming wonderfully nutty on the finish with breathing.

My ranking: 4th place
Panel ranking: 4th place

Votes: 0 most, 8 second & third, 0 least preferred



2004 Ashton Hills Reserve Pinot Noir $50: Mid red colour. This had some similarities to the previous wine, but the spicy/toasty vanilla oak was well and truly ahead of the raspberry fruit. The palate opened with a rush of beetroot fruit, followed by a healthy dose of vanilla oak, the beetroot returning for the finish.

My ranking: 5th place
Panel ranking: =7th place

Votes: 1 most, 2 second & third, 2 least preferred



2002 Freycinet Pinot Noir $65: Dark red colour. My votes were pretty much in line with the rest of the panel with the big exception of this wine. This was just too ripe and extracted by my reasoning, the fruit being in the smoky/blackberry spectrum with a slightly green tinge and toasty oak. Likewise the palate was taken to the extreme, opening with very ripe fruit before the tannins took over mid-palate and dominated the finish. Maybe this is one for Shiraz lovers?

My ranking: =8th place
Panel ranking: 2nd place

Votes: 5 most, 4 second & third, 1 least preferred



2004 Bass Phillip Estate Pinot Noir $65: Light to mid red. Slightly herbal and floral like the Burgundy, but this closed up very quickly and wasn’t letting much out. Again the palate was fairly closed but had a lot in common with the Burgundy, with delicate strawberry fruit and hints of mineral/earth, and mushroom. I liked the potential of this one.

My ranking: 3rd place
Panel ranking: 3rd place

Votes: 3 most, 5 second & third, 1 least preferred



2003 Sirromet LM Private Bin Pinot Noir $30: Dark red colour. Quite weird throughout the tasting, opening with toasted/wheaty scents, then slightly nutty with some cashews, and finally very stinky/herbal. While the nose was unusual, the palate was dry and tannic throughout the tasting, lacking the delicacy and freshness of the other wines. This limited release was sourced from the Granite Belt region of Queensland where it’s cooler & less humid due to the high altitude, and while it was at least recognizable as Pinot it was widely disliked.

My ranking: 10th place
Panel ranking: 10th place

Votes: 0 most, 0 second and third, 9 least preferred



2003 Bannockburn Pinot Noir $45: Light to mid red. At first this was quite sweet, herbal and floral like the Burgundy, but with breathing became wonderfully savoury with beef stock cubes and just a touch of the dentist chair in the background. Likewise the palate was savoury from the outset, a stocky opening with some mushroom and gamey characters but with sweet underlying fruit, the most exotic and satisfying of the selection.

My ranking: 1st place
Panel ranking: 1st place

Votes: 3 most, 8 second & third, 0 least preferred



2003 Stonier Reserve Pinot Noir $60: Light to mid red. Sweet, herbal and stocky at first on the nose, becoming distinctly green and stalky with air; the palate was strange, very ripe and yet also very green, with over-sweet sickly cherry/medicinal characters on the finish. The panel was shocked when its identity was revealed – this was nothing like the superb wine we had at the Blacktongues Botanic dinner last year, and almost certainly an abnormal bottle.

My ranking: 7th place
Panel ranking: 9th place

Votes: 0 most, 0 second & third, 2 least preferred



2004 Merrick’s Creek Pinot Noir $55: Light to mid red/purple. This was another wine that really was an extreme, with very clean raspberry/slightly herbal fruit belted with smoky/toasty then sweet vanilla oak. Likewise the palate was very dry and very ripe with noticeable alcohol heat and obvious vanilla oak, really lacking class compared to the best wines.

My ranking: =8th place
Panel ranking: 6th place

Votes: 2 most, 0 second & third, 0 least preferred



Cheers,
Ian

[Geoffrey]

Ian
Notes on the Pinot Noir are a good read, im interested in you description of the aroma of the Bannockurn P/N where you compare it with that of the dentist chair, the only thing i have have experienced round a dentist chair is fear and the the arrival of a hefty bill depriving me of money that should be spent else were, ie on wine. Im due to visit my dentist and look forward to discussing the aroma of his chair with that of wine. Could you explain further on the aroma of the dentist chair to the wine.

Cheers
Geoffrey

[Wayno]

Agreed on the 03 Stonier re: the dodgy bottle angle.
I had some of this a little while back and my memories were of it being pretty damned good, certainly not as per your notes.
I have a bottle of the 04 which I picked up a few weeks back, bought on the strength of the 03. Anyone have any thoughts on that one?

[Maximus]

Wasn't the Stonier Reserve the wine that blitzed the competition at that international pinot taste-off recently? With the likes of Halliday, Mattinson, etc?

And Ian, very disappointed at the very obvious absence of real pinot noirs. Why the kiwi neglect?

[n4sir]

Ian
Notes on the Pinot Noir are a good read, im interested in you description of the aroma of the Bannockurn P/N where you compare it with that of the dentist chair, the only thing i have have experienced round a dentist chair is fear and the the arrival of a hefty bill depriving me of money that should be spent else were, ie on wine. Im due to visit my dentist and look forward to discussing the aroma of his chair with that of wine. Could you explain further on the aroma of the dentist chair to the wine.

Cheers
Geoffrey

It's a bit of a mixture of smells really - amalgam (fillings), a bit of fluoride, maybe the antiseptic they use there, and of course a bit of leather from the chair itself. I've heard the term used before and it seemed pretty appropriate.

As for the "smell of fear" ... maybe those brown undies could come in handy!

Cheers,
Ian