The Atlanta "Not Lori" Off-line

Rathbun's
Tasted Friday, November 17, 2006 by GreenDrazi with 1,294 views

Introduction

Leslie was in town as a stop on her “Not Lori” world tour and wanted to join a few Atlanta folks for an off-line. Thankfully Kevin picked up the ball and did an incredible job of organizing a California Pinot Noir dinner paired with BBQ on the patio at Rathburn’s. We were also glad to have Allan from NC join us. And what a fun night it was. After having the back of our necks roasted for a short while by the patio heaters, we were entertained by the good spirits of Leslie through out the evening. Now any notes from her about food parings are going to be a little bit skewed because she spent most of the evening fishing out her food from a sea of Pinot Noir while dodging tipped and broken glasses thrown her way. Leslie, in case you didn’t realize it, that’s what we call “Southern Hospitality.” It’s a good thing we were seated outside, as we caused a good raucous. Compliments to everyone as all of the wines were superb. The Rathbun’s wait staff was top notch and the fixed menu was fantastic.

All the Pinot flights were served single blind. We knew it was Cali PN and the vintage (except for a couple of them).

Flight 1 - Starter Champagne (1 Note)

I don’t think the mousse was affected by the searing heat of the patio heater, but you never know.

Flight 2 - 2005 California Pinot Noir (3 Notes)

Served with lightly grilled Salmon in a light sauce.

  • 2005 Siduri Pinot Noir Sonatera Vineyard 90 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Rich, big, and Syrah like-nose that is slightly deceptive to the flavors of cassis and cherry on the palate. Full bodied with a polished and lively texture. Light and long finish. This edged out the Lucia Gary’s by one vote (6 vs 5 votes) for the WOTF.

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  • 2005 Siduri Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard 88 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

    Sweet and big nose leading to raspberry and blackberry with a touch of light cinnamon, some vanilla and a touch of earth flavors. Slightly tannic and syrupy with a jumbled and dis-jointed mid-palate, this young, primary wine needs a lot of time to integrate.

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  • 2005 Lucia Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard 91 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

    Good, vibrant Pinot-funk aromatics. Fleshy black and red fruits and earth flavors along with a touch of orange citrus and light spice. Served slightly cool, the flavors continued to open up nicely the longer it was in the glass. Full bodied with a nice velvet texture leading to a light and bright finish. By far, the most traditional Pinot flavored wine of this flight.

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Flight 3 - 2002 California Pinot Noir (5 Notes)

Served with an unusual but wonderful combination of Sea Scallop over BBQ Ox Tail

  • 2002 Dominion Tantara Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard 94 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

    Rich currants and tobacco on the nose. Superbly integrated dark cherry, blackberry and earthy flavors with great depth and vibrancy that just continued to broaden on the mid-palate. Good acidity and velveteen texture with a full and long finish. This was easily the WOTF (8qty 1st place and 2qty 2nd place votes) and also was the group’s WOTN. My only complaint is that Kevin gave away a good full glass of this to the chef – I still wanted more!!

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  • 2002 DuMOL Pinot Noir Finn 90 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Sweet, cherry candy nose that follows through on the palate along with a little rhubarb. Ripe and polished with low acidity, yet has some nice depth to it. Bright and long finish.

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  • 2002 Hartford / Hartford Court Pinot Noir Arrendell Vineyard 94 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Nose was slightly subdued but still had excellent depth with currant, spice, and herbs. Flavors of concentrated dark cherry and herbs with a little vanilla streak, all the while showing complexity and depth. Good length on the finish.

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  • 1999 Martinelli Pinot Noir Reserve Martinelli Vineyard 90 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Placed in the ’02 flight (because it had no where else to go), this clearly had the most aged nose of the night with evidence that it’s past its peak, yet still floral with a fading edge. Extracted and well integrated flavors of black cherry and black berries along with oak spice. Smooth and fine texture.

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  • 2002 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Kanzler Vineyard 91 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Big, rich cherry and vanilla on the nose which follow through on the palate along with light oak spice flavors with a hint of citrus. Full palate with a nice texture and a little spice increasing on the good sized and very long finish. This got 8qty 2nd place votes for the flight - almost the same 8 that voted for the Tantara in 1st place.

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Flight 4 - 2004 California Pinot Noir (4 Notes)

Part One of the “We love our ’04 Cali PN Paul” flight of terrific 2004 Cali Pinot Noirs.
Served with Smoked Shrimp over a sweet BBQ sauce.

  • 2004 Siduri Pinot Noir Keefer Ranch Vineyard 92 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Full, brooding Pinot funk nose with barnyard and underbrush that follows through on the palate along with black cherry and blackberry flavors wrapped in a nicely complex package that just continued to develop in the glass. Slightly tannic now with good acidity, this should evolve nicely for years.

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  • 2004 Pisoni Pinot Noir Estate 93 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

    Tremendous complex nose with a light textural quality. Flavors were predominately red fruit with strawberry and dark cherry dominating along with some earth notes. Has a nice attack and then broadens fully at mid-palate with ample acidity and wonderful depth leading to a long, spice infused and slightly hot finish. There’s a lot to enjoy with this wine – wish that I had more time with it.

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  • 2004 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing 92 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

    Sweet nose of lush cherry and spice. Big, thick and concentrated cassis, cranberry and citrus along with hints of vanilla almost turning to chocolate on the powerful mid-palate. Polished tannins with a full finish.

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  • 2004 Kistler Pinot Noir Kistler Vineyard 94 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Lively and floral aromatics with cherry and a band of vanilla. Wonderfully complex bouquet of sweet cherry, pomegranate, anise, and cinnamon flavors. Full bodied with good acidity and a nice velveteen texture that builds to a long finish with just a trace of heat. This was the WOTF based on 5qty 2nd place votes breaking a 3-way tie for first.

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Flight 5 - 2004 California Pinot Noir (4 Notes)

Part Two of the “We love our ’04 Cali PN Paul” flight of terrific 2004 Cali Pinot Noirs
Served with a carnivores delight of BBQ beef, chicken, pork, and spare ribs.

  • 2004 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 94 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Huge nose. Big, rich flavors of dark cherry, cinnamon and anise spice along with a touch of orange peel and some vanilla. A full bodied wine that builds on the palate leading to a full and long finish.

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  • 2004 Saintsbury Pinot Noir Carolina Cuvee Brown Ranch 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

    Well integrated flavors of cherry, anise spice, and light herbs. Wonderfully supple and velvet texture with a spice infused, long, lingering finish. Easily the most relaxed and balanced wine of the night, which is a surprise considering the small cuvee this was drawn from. This was the WOTF based on 2nd place votes breaking a tie for 1st place with the K-B RRV.

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  • 2004 A.P. Vin Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard 92 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

    Tremendous nose of earth and bright cherry with a little heat which follows through on the palate balanced with dark cherry and black cherry flavors. Nice tactile quality to the texture.

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  • 2003 Bernard Dugat-Py Pommard La Levrière Vieilles Vignes 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard

    Good floral aromas, almost peppery. Well balanced flavours of cherry, light blackberry and minerals with some acidity. Seemed a bit thin at times on the palate. This was an ’03 vintage ringer tossed into the group. Little did we know that it was a Burg, but it seemed to fit right in with the pack.

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Flight 6 - Dessert wines (3 Notes)

Served with a wonderful assortment of chocolate desserts.
I was not taking detailed notes at this point.

Flight 7 - A little "this and that" for anyone still left standing (2 Notes)

Closing

If the “Not Lori” tour is headed to your town, I’d get tickets now! We are looking forward to the return trip next year.

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