Grand Cru (Perth) tasting group - August 23 - Pinot Noir
Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 6:02 pm
G’day
This month’s Grand Cru tasting returned to a theme we have tackled before: Pinot Noir. Eleven of us each brought a bottle from anywhere in the world, and of any vintage.
As usual, the wines were bagged up and tasted blind, with the only indicator being the vintage written on the bag (we taste from young to old).
The usual disclaimer: the notes below are a compilation of the group’s comments and do not only reflet my opinion. In this case, even more so, as my nose mysteriously stopped working the day before this tasting, and as a result, all I got from 11 wines was largely tannins and acid. Everyone else got lots more.
We also vote on wine of the bracket, and the winners then compete for wine of the night. Votes for wine of the bracket are recorded below.
We started with a quartet of 2015s – well, we thought we were ……
Eddystone Point 2015 (N/E Tasmania, 13.5% alc): Bright garnet in colour. An initial wallop of sulphur dissipated to reveal lots of bright red fruit, including strawberry. The fruit was considered confected and jubey, and was competing with lots of oak. The palate showed leather, cherry and white pepper. Tannins are fine (as you would expect) and there’s good acidity. The finish was short and savoury. It was considered a ‘drink now to 5 years’ wine, and ‘incomplete’. No votes.
Eastern Peak Pinot Noir 2013 (Ballarat, Victoria, 13% alc). Yes, 2013 – one of the tasters made a blue. Deep red / garnet colour. The nose shows meaty characters alongside dark red fruits. There’s also a slight earthiness and mushroom. The palate offers cranberry, raspberry, and black pepper, supported by medium/high acidity and a medium length / palate weight that was considered well balanced. There was definitely more new oak in this wine than the first wine. The wine was a little divisive in some respects, with some tasters considering the nose to be big leading to an elegant or ethereal palate, while others suggested the nose did not reflect varietal pinot noir characters. The wine will last for some years, and received 6 votes.
Payton & Jones Brown’s Block 2015 (Kilmore, Victoria, 13% alc) is a paler wine. There’s a delicate, “pretty” nose of subtle red fruits and dried herbs. The palate has prominent acid and a slight astringency. It’s tart, slightly bitter and a briny character. There’s a noticeably limited middle palate. Modest tannins lead to a linear finish. The group enjoyed the wine nonetheless (although there was no ‘wow’ factor), and felt it is too young and slightly shut down at present. 4 votes.
Jean Clause Boisset ‘Les Ursulines’ 2015 (Burgundy, 12.5% alc). Pale garnet in colour. This is perfumed with pot pourri. Some fresh red fruitsand jube characters alongside sappiness, soapiness, pencil shavings and high toast oak. The perfume carries over to the palate, with some tar or smokiness, sour cherry, and green / sappy tannins. Acid is modest and it has a medium length only. No votes.
We then moved onto the second bracket (of three wines) from 2014 and 2013
The Truffle and Wine Co Pinot Noir 2014 (Willamate Valley Oregon USA, 13.9% alc). Dark garnet bordering on purple. The nose is all oak – coconut, sandalwood and some astringency. This smells more like a big shiraz than a pinot. It’s dark fruited with big acid, and more astringency on the palate. It’s just, well, a big red wine. No votes.
Freycinet Pinot Noir 2014 (Tasmania, 14.8% alc). Dark red / garnet. There’s initially some reductive characters – sulphur and cabbage – on the nose. There’s also strawberry, some meats, alongside some greenness and stalkiness. The palate is meaty, funky, with dark candied cherry fruit. There’s some bitter chocolate as well. Opinion was divided over the length of the wine – some finding it short and flat, with others considering it to be long. Some found minerality and savoury characters while others suggested it was overly tannic and green. We were possibly drinking this 5-10 years too early. 2 votes.
Valli Waitake Vineyard Pinot Noir 2013 (North Otago, NZ, 13.5% alc). Darker red, with slight brown tinges. This is perfumed, with white pepper, red licorice, raspberry and white chocolate, while the palate shows big red fruits, crunchy tannins, high acid and a good length. Overall, the wine is well integrated. Although we’re drinking it too young, it found favour with the group with 9 votes.
A trio of ‘10s followed.
Dry River Pinot Noir 2010 (Martinborough NZ, 13% alc) is a light purple in colour. It’s porty, with raisined and stewed fruits, and what appeared to be high or prominent alcohol. The palate is also raisined with over-ripe fruit, a high viscosity and palate weight. Possible 2-3 years past its best, this was a monster which was more light a heavy dry red than a pinot. 3 votes.
Marchand and Burch Nuits St George 2010 (Burgundy). Red brown in colour. Elegant, with floral complexity. There’s bright, lifted fruit and some toast. There’s lots of sweet fruit on the palate, accompanied by high acid, and fine drying tannins. This wine gained complexity with time in the glass. Some tasters considered this to be a little unbalanced due to the high acid, and possibly too young. It received 7 votes nevertheless.
Bannockburn “Stuart” Pinot Noir 2010 (Geelong, Victoria, 12.5% alc). Born / red in colour. The nose showed cabbage (still in its earth, apparently!), green tomato, tabasco or Worcestershire sauce. There’s prominent acid, stewed figs, and caramelised fruit. Clearly oxidised, and got worse in the glass.
A pair of wines from last decade rounded out the tasting.
Yarralock Pinot Noir 2008 (Coldstream, Yarra Valley, Victoria, 13.5% alc) is dark red with a touch of brown. There’s leather, some strawberry ‘rollups’ (the confectionery), cold tea, toffee and game. It smelled a fraction flat, but this changed on the palate, with more of the same characters amplified slightly, and supported by soft acid and too much tannin. It’s transitioning to tertiary development, and won’t get any better. 8 votes, however.
Ashley Estate Pinor Noir 2007 (Perth Hills 13.8% alc). Red brick in colour. Obvious alcohol, with concentrated cherry liqueur. The palate offers tangy fruit, zippy acid and ripe lifted fruit. There’s also chewy tannic grip. More a dry red than a pinot, at 10 years it’s holding up well, and is more like an old style Hunter burgundy. 2 votes.
It’s probably no surprise that a Burgundy got wine of the night – in this case, the Marchand and Burch Nuits St George 2010. Although I didn’t bring this wine, I am fortunate to have a few in the cellar, and this tasting has given me a preview of what to expect.
Thanks to all who joined us – debate was very lively at times – and to the Terrace Hotel for hosting us in fine style.
Cheers
Allan
This month’s Grand Cru tasting returned to a theme we have tackled before: Pinot Noir. Eleven of us each brought a bottle from anywhere in the world, and of any vintage.
As usual, the wines were bagged up and tasted blind, with the only indicator being the vintage written on the bag (we taste from young to old).
The usual disclaimer: the notes below are a compilation of the group’s comments and do not only reflet my opinion. In this case, even more so, as my nose mysteriously stopped working the day before this tasting, and as a result, all I got from 11 wines was largely tannins and acid. Everyone else got lots more.
We also vote on wine of the bracket, and the winners then compete for wine of the night. Votes for wine of the bracket are recorded below.
We started with a quartet of 2015s – well, we thought we were ……
Eddystone Point 2015 (N/E Tasmania, 13.5% alc): Bright garnet in colour. An initial wallop of sulphur dissipated to reveal lots of bright red fruit, including strawberry. The fruit was considered confected and jubey, and was competing with lots of oak. The palate showed leather, cherry and white pepper. Tannins are fine (as you would expect) and there’s good acidity. The finish was short and savoury. It was considered a ‘drink now to 5 years’ wine, and ‘incomplete’. No votes.
Eastern Peak Pinot Noir 2013 (Ballarat, Victoria, 13% alc). Yes, 2013 – one of the tasters made a blue. Deep red / garnet colour. The nose shows meaty characters alongside dark red fruits. There’s also a slight earthiness and mushroom. The palate offers cranberry, raspberry, and black pepper, supported by medium/high acidity and a medium length / palate weight that was considered well balanced. There was definitely more new oak in this wine than the first wine. The wine was a little divisive in some respects, with some tasters considering the nose to be big leading to an elegant or ethereal palate, while others suggested the nose did not reflect varietal pinot noir characters. The wine will last for some years, and received 6 votes.
Payton & Jones Brown’s Block 2015 (Kilmore, Victoria, 13% alc) is a paler wine. There’s a delicate, “pretty” nose of subtle red fruits and dried herbs. The palate has prominent acid and a slight astringency. It’s tart, slightly bitter and a briny character. There’s a noticeably limited middle palate. Modest tannins lead to a linear finish. The group enjoyed the wine nonetheless (although there was no ‘wow’ factor), and felt it is too young and slightly shut down at present. 4 votes.
Jean Clause Boisset ‘Les Ursulines’ 2015 (Burgundy, 12.5% alc). Pale garnet in colour. This is perfumed with pot pourri. Some fresh red fruitsand jube characters alongside sappiness, soapiness, pencil shavings and high toast oak. The perfume carries over to the palate, with some tar or smokiness, sour cherry, and green / sappy tannins. Acid is modest and it has a medium length only. No votes.
We then moved onto the second bracket (of three wines) from 2014 and 2013
The Truffle and Wine Co Pinot Noir 2014 (Willamate Valley Oregon USA, 13.9% alc). Dark garnet bordering on purple. The nose is all oak – coconut, sandalwood and some astringency. This smells more like a big shiraz than a pinot. It’s dark fruited with big acid, and more astringency on the palate. It’s just, well, a big red wine. No votes.
Freycinet Pinot Noir 2014 (Tasmania, 14.8% alc). Dark red / garnet. There’s initially some reductive characters – sulphur and cabbage – on the nose. There’s also strawberry, some meats, alongside some greenness and stalkiness. The palate is meaty, funky, with dark candied cherry fruit. There’s some bitter chocolate as well. Opinion was divided over the length of the wine – some finding it short and flat, with others considering it to be long. Some found minerality and savoury characters while others suggested it was overly tannic and green. We were possibly drinking this 5-10 years too early. 2 votes.
Valli Waitake Vineyard Pinot Noir 2013 (North Otago, NZ, 13.5% alc). Darker red, with slight brown tinges. This is perfumed, with white pepper, red licorice, raspberry and white chocolate, while the palate shows big red fruits, crunchy tannins, high acid and a good length. Overall, the wine is well integrated. Although we’re drinking it too young, it found favour with the group with 9 votes.
A trio of ‘10s followed.
Dry River Pinot Noir 2010 (Martinborough NZ, 13% alc) is a light purple in colour. It’s porty, with raisined and stewed fruits, and what appeared to be high or prominent alcohol. The palate is also raisined with over-ripe fruit, a high viscosity and palate weight. Possible 2-3 years past its best, this was a monster which was more light a heavy dry red than a pinot. 3 votes.
Marchand and Burch Nuits St George 2010 (Burgundy). Red brown in colour. Elegant, with floral complexity. There’s bright, lifted fruit and some toast. There’s lots of sweet fruit on the palate, accompanied by high acid, and fine drying tannins. This wine gained complexity with time in the glass. Some tasters considered this to be a little unbalanced due to the high acid, and possibly too young. It received 7 votes nevertheless.
Bannockburn “Stuart” Pinot Noir 2010 (Geelong, Victoria, 12.5% alc). Born / red in colour. The nose showed cabbage (still in its earth, apparently!), green tomato, tabasco or Worcestershire sauce. There’s prominent acid, stewed figs, and caramelised fruit. Clearly oxidised, and got worse in the glass.
A pair of wines from last decade rounded out the tasting.
Yarralock Pinot Noir 2008 (Coldstream, Yarra Valley, Victoria, 13.5% alc) is dark red with a touch of brown. There’s leather, some strawberry ‘rollups’ (the confectionery), cold tea, toffee and game. It smelled a fraction flat, but this changed on the palate, with more of the same characters amplified slightly, and supported by soft acid and too much tannin. It’s transitioning to tertiary development, and won’t get any better. 8 votes, however.
Ashley Estate Pinor Noir 2007 (Perth Hills 13.8% alc). Red brick in colour. Obvious alcohol, with concentrated cherry liqueur. The palate offers tangy fruit, zippy acid and ripe lifted fruit. There’s also chewy tannic grip. More a dry red than a pinot, at 10 years it’s holding up well, and is more like an old style Hunter burgundy. 2 votes.
It’s probably no surprise that a Burgundy got wine of the night – in this case, the Marchand and Burch Nuits St George 2010. Although I didn’t bring this wine, I am fortunate to have a few in the cellar, and this tasting has given me a preview of what to expect.
Thanks to all who joined us – debate was very lively at times – and to the Terrace Hotel for hosting us in fine style.
Cheers
Allan
