Cali and Burgs Blind

FMIII in the OC
Tasted Monday, June 18, 2012 by brigcampbell with 778 views

Introduction

The day started out with golf. Because we had 5 people playing, Frank and I partnered up with another twosome. They were a couple of nice guys and Denny was quite the character visiting from Pittsburgh. At about the 5th hole he started asking me to read his putts and proceeded to drain 6 or 7 putts from outside of 15 feet. I need to quit playing golf and carry a bag...

The Burg and Cali tasting was a real treat for me, I love pinot and haven't had much exposure to nice burgs. Well, this was a good chance to change all of that with an invitation from Frank to join the crew. They are really a great bunch of people, interesting to talk with because it just isn't about wine all the time.

The star of the night, besides the cheese platter which Steve prepared like something from the nicest restaurant, was the Rhys Swan Terrace Pinot. My oh my, that is some fine wine. Really special stuff.

Come to find out, it's not very easy to differentiate between a burg and cali pinot blind. Sure, you could compare an old rusty burg to Loring and everyone would pick it correctly. But it's amazing how much "earth" and terrior the california winemakers are getting. And on the flip side, there are burgs which are fruit forward and would be considered over the top by the purest in world. Overall I think I correctly guess 11 of the 16 wines but there were a few that I'm certain everyone messed up on. Really great experience for me and I hope to be able learn more from everyone.

Flight 1 (4 Notes)

Flight 2 (4 Notes)

  • 2007 Copain Pinot Noir Wentzel Vineyard

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    Blind - guessed cali. Definitely on the ripe side of the fence but I enjoyed it. It can't be an apologist because I like it.

    Rank: #1 of 4 in Second Flight

    I had this as tied for my #3 spot for the evening with the Arcadian.

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  • 2008 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Blind - guessed Cali but though about burg serious. I didn't really enjoy this wine.

    Rank: #4 of 4 in Second Flight

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  • 2009 Maison Ilan Charmes-Chambertin Aux Charmes Hautes

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

    Blind - guessed burg correctly. Boy was this wine a topic of conversation for the burgheads after the unveiling, whew. Some thought is was slightly flawed, some though it was disjointed, some like me thought "just OK". Very interested debate by those in the know.

    Rank: #3 of 4 in Second Flight

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  • 2010 Poe Wines Pinot Noir Angel Camp Vineyard

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    Blind guess burg, wrong! This is a nice wine and demanded lots of chatter afterwards. I wanted to re-taste it afterwards but the bottle was gone. Will have to looks these guys up, had not had the wines before.

    Rank: #2 or 4 in Second Flight

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Flight 3 (4 Notes)

Flight 4 (4 Notes)

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