Oregon Field Report - Pinot Noir abound!

I’m out in Oregon tasting wines for a week, I will be posting TNs, info about where we’ve eaten and tasted as we go.

My First Oregon Pinot

IRIS HILL RESERVE PINOT NOIR 2005
VINTAGES 64808 | 750 mL bottle
Price: $ 29.70

I’ve learned to love pinot, and no it has nothing to do with the movie sideways.  There is an astounding complexity to pinots that I’m really learning to appreciate.  That being said, my entire exposure to pinot noir has been Niagara region pinots.  I thought I would try out an Oregon pinot noir that I found at my local LCBO. 

This wine is a beautiful beautiful brilliant dark guarnet colour, with a coppery sheen to it.  It smells like  strawberry rhubarb pie, with dark cherries, with some vanilla bean and dried mint thrown into it. There’s an earthy note I can’t pin down adds a real depth that I am totally digging - like a freshly cut white mushroom.  I didn’t expect the weight of this wine.  It seems a bit hollow up front, but wow everything but the tip of my tongue is coated in ripe plum flavour (the meat of the plum right next to the skin). This is all over my mid palate, but the rest of my mouth is really left begging for more. Nice finish - really nice finish. Plum and rhubarb up front, some black pepper comes in next. Some spice cake components end the finish, just a pleasant reminder of the 12.5% alcohol. Great acidity, this is a well balanced wine.

After 45 mins in the decanter: It’s amazing how the aromatics have changed in this little time. Now I’m thinking cherry pie filling when I smell it. There’s still a freshness to the nose, a hint of clove. Flavour profile is the same, I really dig the purity of the flavours in this wine, and the length of the finish. 89 pts.

Aussie Elegance for 30 dollars

GLEN ELDON DRY BORE SHIRAZ 2004
VINTAGES 54197 | 750 mL bottle
Price: $ 27.75

This wine is inky purple in colour. It has an exciting nose - plum, dark cherry, chocolate, cinnamon stick and some floral components. This is seductive stuff.  The explosion of flavours carries through to the palate where there’s an additional white pepper component. Well balanced, beautiful mouthfeel. This is right on the right side of too much fruit for me, really hedonistic. I’m digging it a bunch. 27bones CDN, this is 90pts for my palate.  Awesome stuff for the dollar.  I bought two more for the cellar, I’m going to enjoy this one next year, and a couple of years later.

Tasting Notes: 2003 Cave de Tain L’Hermitage Cornas

CAVE DE TAIN CORNAS 2003
VINTAGES 972117 | 750 mL bottle
Price: $ 35.65

Dark ruby colour in the glass.  The nose is pretty tight pre-swirl - I smell a little cherry, a little spice (nutmeg maybe?). A couple of swirls in the glass opens up a sensuous set of dark cherry, some cardamom, pepper, hint of nutmeg, and some aromas that make me think of fresh, raw, red meat.  This is a smoking sultry date on a cold winter night.

When I can finally manage to rip my nose away from the glass and taste it, I’m treated to a big, beautiful, refreshing syrah. She seduces my palate with red cherry, dark plum and blackberry; I beg her for more and get warm spice cake, and a whiff white pepper.  Then she calls me a bad boy and spanks me with tannic structure. This is an elegant, well balanced, mouth filling wine.

Long, well balanced finish that starts with dark cherry, ripe dark plum and a hint of raspberry. Just when I thought she’s done with me, a spicy warmth shows up in my mid palate, and I’m getting the spice cake again with some plum peelings and a tickle of blueberry.

If you’ve only had big Aussie or California Shiraz/Syrah, pick one of these up to understand what the old world has to offer.  91 pts.

LCBO Winners Under 20 Bones

This has become a new pastime for me - visit the LCBO and dare to purchase something in the 10-20 dollar range that is really great.  Trust me, there are some out there - whether you are a seasoned veteran of the wine world, or a new quaffer, check out these available at your local LCBO.

CHRISTIAN MOUEIX SAINT-ÉMILION 2005
VINTAGES 979955 | 750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.75

This is a great ‘generic’ (Christian Moueix’s words, not mine) Saint Emilion.  Maybe not as elegant and polished as a Grand Cru, but it’s a pretty rare thing to find an 05 Bordeaux for under 20 bones these days.  It’s a good wine, buy a couple drink one now save one for a year or two later.

MORGANTE NERO D’AVOLA 2005
VINTAGES 40816 | 750 mL bottle
Price: $ 15.25

Get into some wines from Sicily before they start rising in prices!  Nero D’avola is gaining a reputation, this is a great example of the varietal.  Well balanced wine, great value for the dollar!

CLINE SYRAH (V) 0
VINTAGES 733758 | 750 mL bottle
Price: $ 12.85

I’m not a huge fan of jammy overripe Syrah, and this doesn’t feel like one to me.  Fruit forward to be sure, but not over the top.  For 12 bones, you can’t go wrong!

PENFOLDS THOMAS HYLAND SHIRAZ (V) 0
VINTAGES 611210 | 750 mL bottle
Price: $ 20.95

Nice aussie shiraz - well balanced, and a nice polish to it for the price.

CASA DE LA ERMITA CRIANZA 2003
VINTAGES 956334 | 750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.55

This is a Spanish crianza, 100% tempranillo.  If you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting tempranillo before, do yourself a favour and grab one of these bottles.  Fast becoming one of my favourite varietals.  Very approachable with enough complexity to keep the snobs of the group interested too!

CAVE DE TAIN ESPRIT DE GRANIT SAINT JOSEPH
VINTAGES 17152 | 750 mL bottle
Price: $ 17.75

I was heading to a poker game a few months ago, and I was still in the mindset that I had to pay top dollar (60+) for a good wine.  I stopped into the Mississauga Vintages store (the one that’s only vintages!) and the gentleman there recommended this one.  I was skeptical, but I will tell you now it was great.  Unbelievable value for the money.  100% Syrah - for fun, try this one and the Cline back to back.  What a difference!!

Wine Tasting for the Rest of Us

This is a quick overview of wine tasting, a concise look at terminology, and the basics of tasting wine.

You know all those wine reviews, all the notes you read when you’re in the wine store that you think back to when you’re tasting a wine?  Toss ‘em out the window.  Until you’ve smelled and tasted cassis, or kirsch, or cigar box, what’s the use of that language to you?  Trust your palate (your tongue & sense of taste) and your sniffer, and describe wines in terms that make sense to you.  Does it smell like old gym socks?  Got a snootful of old strawberry jam and slimy green pepper?  Awesome, talk about it in those terms.  I once described a wine as smelling like a brand new he-man action figure dipped in raspberry jam, and rolled down a hill of fresh cut grass.  Classical description?  Nope.  Does it work?  Well, anyone that grew up in my age bracket remembers the plasticky smell of Skeletor coming out of the package, and summertime grass as you’re cutting your grandpa’s lawn for 10 dollars.  Add some raspberry and you get something interesting.  Don’t make up crap you read in a magazine, trust what you smell and taste and describe it in terms that you understand and relate to.

Here are some of the common terms used in wine tasting.

Nose/Bouquet - this is the smell of the wine.  Put your nose into the glass and give it a sniff.  Sniff for more than 3-4 seconds and you won’t get anymore information - your olfactory glands will be saturated with alcohol.  Give ‘em a few more seconds to desaturate, and sniff again.

Mouthfeel - this is what the wine feels like in your mouth.  Heavy like Aunt Jemima syrup, or light like water - rough like tonic water or silky smooth like vodka fresh from the freezer.

Acidity - this is often described as “sourness”.  I usually get it on the edges of my tongue.  Lick a lemon and you’ll get the idea.  Also causes you to salivate.

Tannins - this is the stuff that dries your mouth out.  If you’ve ever had a wine made from Nebbiolo grapes (Barberesco or Barolo, for example) you know exactly what this is.  Try green tea, only let it steep too long you’ll get the idea - bitter, dries out the mouth.  People sometimes describe tannins as round, ripe, angular, big - all subjective descriptors, so ask the taster when they say “full of ripe tannins” what exactly they mean.

Attack - Usually refers to the first thing you taste in the wine.  Pour it in your mouth, what’s the first thing you think of (don’t say “wine”).

Midpalate - this is the transition from attack to finish.  So after the first stuff you taste, what happens?  Does it disappear?  Get all peppery on you?  Are the flavours you first tasted still there, or other flavours from the nose?

Finish - this is after the initial flavours are gone.  The snobocrats usually rate a long finish better than a short one, but that’s only if it doesn’t taste like ass.  Are the flavours left in your mouth after swallow (or spit, girlie man) pleasant?  All the stuff from the attack and midpalate there still?  Anything new showing up?  Do you like it?

If I can impart one thing during my time publishing this blog, it’s a lesson I learned from my good friend (well, I’ve only been watching his video podcast, I don’t really know him personally) Gary Vaynerchuck (tv.winelibrary.com) - be real, be yourself, and don’t be fooled by the wine snobs.  Forget about feeling intimidated - it’s just fermented grape juice.  Ask questions, trust yourself, and be honest.  Oh and enjoy!  Wine is one of life’s great pleasures.