Pinot Party!

Last Friday, a few of us at Touring & Tasting had the opportunity to taste some wonderful Pinot Noirs with food pairings by our talented food editor, Tama. She made us a beautiful spread of smoked salmon, smoked white fish spread and mushroom pate.

As for the wines, before jumping into the Pinot Noirs, we took a detour to Arlebosc, France to try the 2009 Domaine Romaneaux-Destezet Vin de Pays Blanc. It was a very pleasant wine. This White Burgundy was not as acidic as some other French Chardonnays, and it tasted of pure, unadulterated grape.

 

Reluctantly leaving France behind, we jumped right into our first Pinot Noir. We began in Mendocino’s Anderson Valley, pouring a 2006 Standish Pinot Noir. It’s a lovely wine, great aromatics, fruity and robust. We enjoyed the undertone of herbs.
We then travel south to Napa Valley to try the 2008 Bouchaine Estate Pinot Noir. This wine doesn’t have the sweetness of the first two, it’s a graceful wine with depth and notes of cocoa. This Carneros Pinot Noir abounds in elegance.

Heading westward we found ourselves in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley. We poured C. Donatiello Winery’s 2006 Pinot Noir. This wine is in its prime. The earthy Pinot is multi-layered with a lovely complexity.

 

For our last two Pinot Noirs we must travel down state, as they are both located in the Santa Lucia Highlands.

The 2008 Pessagno Pinot Noir is deeply colored and has a pleasing tartness.

Our last Pinot Noir is the 2008 Somerston Highflyer. This Pinot is sweeter than the last few, with rich aromatics and highlights of bright cherry.

Not a single Pinot disappointed, and more than one left us pleasantly surprised. We thoughoughly enjoyed our West Coast tasting (with a stop in France, of course) and look forward to tasting a range of Pinot’s outside of California next time.

Have you tried any of the wines we tasted? Have you tasted any good Pinot Noirs lately?

Touring & Tasting Wine Club Wines

Two very different wines were on our table last night--the first is going to be in one of our wine clubs: the Pessagno Lucia Highlands Vineyard Pinot Noir, and the second was in one of our wine clubs: the Hannah Nicole "Le Melange Blanc". The Pinot won 92 points from Wine Enthusiast, which said "This sturdy, full-bodied Pinot could almost be a Grenache, it's so big and strong. Yet, strangely, there's a silky elegance that tells you it's Santa Lucia-style Pinot. Offers waves of raspberries and cherries and oranges, brightened with zesty acidity." It bolsters our view that wonderful wines are coming out of the Monterey County--nuanced with flavor. I tasted a bit of strawberry in the mix of rich fruit--did you taste this wine as part of your wine club? We'd love to hear about your tasting notes!
The "Le Melange Blanc" is from Contra Costa county--east of San Francisco bay and is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier. I loved the aromatics from the Viognier and the light, unoaked flavors of the Sauv Blanc fermented in stainless steel. Both wines went well with asian-style fish, seared and served with wasabi slaw, jasmine rice and Chinese pea pod salad with miso dressing and sesame seeds.