Tag Archives: pinot noir

Mini-reviews 115: Rioja, German rose, Youngberg, Umani Rochi

german roseReviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the fourth Friday of each month. This month: a German rose, plus Oregon pinot noir, a Rioja, and an Italian white for Black Friday 2018

• Vallobera Rioja Crianza 2015 ($15, purchased, 14%): Heavy, old-fashioned Spanish red that isn’t very interesting – sweet cherry fruit, not much orange peel or earth, and almost flabby. Very disappointing. Imported by Evaki

• Villa Wolf Pinot Noir Rose 2017 ($10, purchased, 11.5%): This German pink is sweet (not quite white zinfandel, but noticeable) and fizzy, with almost crisp cherry fruit. Neither sweet nor fizzy is a bad thing, and there will be people who will like it. But not for anyone expecting a dry rose. Imported by Loosen Bros. USA

• Youngberg Hill Pinot Noir Jordan Block 2014 ($49, sample, 14%): This is a well-made wine, and the winemakers apparently accomplished what they were trying to do – an Oregon pinot noir that is heavier and more California in style than Oregon. It doesn’t have any brambly fruit, but more concentrated, rich black fruit.

• Umani Rochi Villa Bianchi 2016 ($9, purchased, 12%): This Italian white is not quite $9 worth of wine – very tart (citrus fruit?), too simple, and not crisp or fresh enough to balance the tartness.

Wine of the week: Matua Pinot Noir 2016

matua pinot noir

Believe it or not, the Matua pinot noir is quality and value from Big Wine. Maybe there’s hope for the wine business after all

It’s understandable if any you reading this are convinced the Wine Curmudgeon has moved on to legal weed. Frankly, I’m as surprised as you are. How could Treasury Wine Estates, the No. 4 wine producer in the world, make the Matua pinot noir, which is varietally correct, shows a bit of terroir, and doesn’t cost $18? The wine world just doesn’t work that way these days.

But all of that is true. Somehow, the same multi-national that has given us zombie labels and the “we’ll make it just a little bit sweeter” 19 Crimes red blend has also given us the New Zealand Matua pinot noir ($13, sample, 12.5%). Maybe there’s hope for the wine business after all.

This wine is a stunner. It’s pinot noir in the New World style, so not earthy or funky. But it doesn’t have the overripe fruit, too much oak, or harsh, cheap, cabernet-like tannins of many so-called New World pinots. In this, it tastes like pinot noir from New Zealand, with zingy berry fruit, an almost silky mouth feel, and a clean and refreshing finish.

Highly recommended — plus, it should be in a lot of grocery stores. Drink this on its own or with burgers, takeout pizza, and even roast chicken.

Imported by TWE Imports

Mini-reviews 111: Geyser Peak, Castle Rock, Ranch 32, Tyrell’s

geyser peakReviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the fourth Friday of each month. This, month, a highly recommended white and red:

• Geyser Peak Chardonnay Water Bend 2016 ($18, sample, 14.5%): California white that tastes like coconut and pineapple – another example of the post-modern, better living through winemaking approach that dominates so much wine at this price. Coconut and pineapple are ideal for an ice cream sundae, but probably not the way chardonnay should taste.

• Castle Rock Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2016 ($15, sample, 13.5%): This vintage of the Oregon red is not what the 2015 was, unfortunately – a little brambly black fruit aroma, but too heavy and not very interesting. It tastes like it has lots of something in it besides pinot noir, a practice that is legal and not uncommon for less expensive pinot noirs.

• Ranch 32 Pinot Noir 2016 ($17, sample, 13.5%) If all $17 wine tasted like this California red, I wouldn’t rant about $17 wine. It’s got actual pinot noir character – almost silky, with precise black fruit and actual oak that lends to the wine and doesn’t dominate it. Highly recommended.

• Tyrell’s Semillon 2016 ($22, purchased, 11%): This white is another brilliant Australian wine that was lost in the disaster that was 15 percent shiraz and that the Aussie wine business is still recovering from. It’s somehow balanced, soft and crisp and with lots of fresh stone fruit, and balanced. Highly recommended. Imported by Broadbent Selections

Wine of the week: Bogle Pinot Noir 2015

bogle pinot noirThe Bogle pinot noir is, as always, $10 Hall of Fame wine. The same can’t be said for the label’s cabernet sauvignon

How amazing is the Bogle pinot noir ($10, sample, 13.5%)? It mostly tastes like pinot noir. This is unheard of in a $10 wine, and it’s not all that common for pinot noir that costs as much as $30, either. That Bogle can do it speaks to the producer’s emphasis on quality and value.

That’s the good news. The bad news, and it pains me to write this, is that the 2015 Bogle cabernet sauvignon ($10, sample, 13.5%) is as disappointing as the pinot noir is not. The cabernet is soft, flabby, and bereft of almost any varietal character. In this, it’s another example of winemaking by focus group; someone, somewhere, decided that U.S. wine drinkers don’t want tannins or spice or pepper or earth or anything that adds interest to cabernet. Instead, all we want is great gobs of gushy fruit, so any number of red wines that were once worth buying aren’t (like this one and this one). I never thought to add a Bogle wine to that list.

Regular visitors here know of my respect – almost reverence – for Bogle. That is borne out in the pinot noir ($10, sample, 13.5%), which is as subtle and elegant as a $10 pinot noir is going to get. Look for cherry fruit, some peppery spice, a little foresty something or other, and oak that is there to be barely noticed. Again, all qualities I rarely seen on wines at this price.

Hopefully, the decision makers at Bogle will realize wine drinkers prefer wines like the pinot and will return the cabernet to its former style. That, more than anything, is why I included it in this review. Because it’s easy to buy cheap wine; it’s much more difficult to buy cheap wine that reminds us why we love wine.

Expensive wine 107: Fort Ross FRV Pinot Noir 2013

Fort Ross FRV pinot noirThe Fort Ross FRV pinot noir is a rarity from California – elegant, graceful, and varietally correct

California pinot noir is a conundrum, which is why we have movies about it, best-selling sweet versions of it, and critically acclaimed cabernet sauvignon versions of it. Mostly, the state isn’t cool and rainy enough to make a classical, varietally correct version of it. Which is where the Fort Ross FRV pinot noir comes in.

The Fort Ross FRV pinot noir ($52, sample, 13.8%) is elegant and, in its elegance, spectacular. It’s not what one expects from California pinot nor, given the excesses of many of the best selling labels. It somehow combines New World freshness with a little Burgundian complexity, so that each part of the wine complements the other and the whole is greater than the parts. It’s balance where balance is too often lacking.

Look for forest floor aromas (not too funky), plus dark red fruit and baking spice flavors, and soft, refined tannins. The tannins, as well as the exquisitely judicious use of oak, might be the most impressive achievements. This is a California pinot noir made to express pinot noir from Fort Ross’ Sonoma terroir instead of making it to get 94 points, the soil and the climate be damned.

Highly recommended. Ready to drink now, and probably won’t age for more than several years. Enjoy it with anything pinot noir–related, from roast lamb to salmon. And, given its grace, by itself.

Wine of the week: Le Charmel Pinot Noir 2016

Le Charmel pinot noirThe Le Charmel pinot noir is a pleasant, enjoyable, and lighter red wine that offers more quality than it costs

Mel Masters has been making wine in France almost as long as I’ve been writing about it, which should give you an idea of how serious this expatriate Englishman is about his craft. Best yet, Masters has focused on affordable quality wine like the Le Charmel pinot noir.

The Le Charmel pinot noir ($12, sample, 13%) comes from the Languedoc in southern France, so don’t expect any high-end Burgundian sophistication. Even though the aroma is a touch earthy, there is little classical pinot noir varietal character. Having said that, it is more than $12 worth of wine – a pleasant, enjoyable, and lighter red, with a sort of dried cherry fruit flavor that doesn’t overwhelm the soft tannins or the hint of acidity that keeps the wine from tasting like it was made in bulk in California.

In fact, the Le Charmel is the kind of inexpensive pinot noir that we rarely see made in this country anymore; and no, the Mark West is not what it once was. Drink this on its own if you want a glass of wine after work, and you can even chill it a little. It would also pair with weeknight meatloaf, as well as weekend hamburgers.

Imported by Winesellers, Ltd.

Fourth of July wine 2017

Fourth of July wine 2017Four delicious and value-oriented wines for Fourth of July 2017

The extra long Fourth of July 2017 weekend means more chances for great, cheap wine – always welcome when one is enjoying the United States’ birthday. But since it’s also summer, with hot and dry weather, the best way to celebrate is with lighter, less alcoholic wine – yes, even for red. That means summer wine (and porch wine); even though the food matters, lots of oak and high alcohol aren’t especially refreshing when it’s 98 degrees outside

Consider these Fourth of July wine 2017 suggestions:

• Masi Pinot Grigio Verduzzo Masianco 2015 ($13, sample, 13%): There was much more to this Italian white than I expected — some pinot grigio tonic water, but also a little pear and almost tropical fruit, and the verduzzo grape in the blend adds some softness.

• Feudo Maccari Sicilia Rosé Noto 2016 ($16, sample, 12%): This is a terrific Sicilian rose made with nero d’avola – light and refreshing (pears and cherries) and an example of hoe versatile the grape can be. Look for it closer to $12 or $13, though, because the suggested price is someone sitting in an office poring over a spreadsheet and doesn’t reflect the wine’s value.

• Firesteed Pinot Noir 2014 ($10, sample, 13.4%): This red was the first affordable Oregon pinot noir to get national attention, but it hasn’t been well made for a long time. This vintage, though, is infinitely better, Look for some cherry fruit, some earth, and the correct tannins. Of course, as soon as I tasted this, the brand was sold to a company with more than two dozen brands, so who knows what will happen next?

• Segura Viudas Cava Brut Rosado NV ($9, purchased, 12%): This pink Spanish sparkler is one of the world’s great wine values, and every time I taste it I marvel at how Segura does it. Cherry and cranberry fruit that finishes softer than it has in the past, but still bubbly and delicious.

More Fourth of July wine:
• Fourth of July wine 2016
• Fourth of July wine 2015
• Wine of the week: Bogle Essential Red 2014