Seattle Wine Group - Nov 2015 Tasting - "Pinots of the World"

The Seattle Wine Group recently held an excellent "Pinot Noir from around the world" tasting.

9 wines, 8 different locations: Oregon, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, California, Canada, France, and 2 from Italy.

All wines were served single blind to the 12 members and two guests attending. The two guests were Heather's parents.

The evening began with a large assortment of wines we like to call "Pre-func," followed by a pot luck dinner inspired by the theme.

My notes are as follows, with group voting at the end of each note. The numerical scores are mine alone.

Oh ... and the word of the day was ... TEUTONIC.

9 bottles tasted. One was corked. Turned out to be the Italian from Langhe. Ended up with 8 good bottles from 8 distinct regions of the world.

• 2008 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir Laurène 87 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

  Nose had spiced red fruit with a sweet edge. Palate followed the nose, with raspberry red fruit. Felt hot and drank like a warm vintage Yakima Valley Grenache. Finish was short. Panned by most of the group, except for - interestingly - Heather, her mom, and her dad; all three rated it very high.
  Bottle A ... Group rating = 8th ... My rating = 8th

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• 2013 Johanneshof Reinisch Pinot Noir 87 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Thermenregion

  Nose had tart cherries. Palate was very fruity with red berries and a hint of sweetness. Mouthfeel was stemmy but no earthy flavors. Medium length finish, but not very complex. My summary is "sweet and sour."
  
  Group did not enjoy this wine on the whole; most rated 5th or lower, no one rated 3rd or higher.
  Bottle = B ... Group rating = 7th ... My rating = 7th

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• 2013 J. Hofstätter Meczan Pinot Nero Blauburgunder 89 Points

  Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Alto Adige, Alto Adige - Südtirol

  Strong nose of black cherry and mushrooms with some floral aspects. Corresponding strong palate that follows the nose but also a touch funky and peppery. Nice streak of acidity on the finish with some iron/mineral notes. However, finish is a bit light and falls off quickly. Young.
  
  I seem to be the oddball on this wine, as most rated it low but it was one of my favorites.
  Bottle = C ... Group rating = 6th ... My rating = 2nd

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• 2013 Holger Koch Herrenstück Pinot Noir 88 Points

  Germany, Baden

  medium-intense nose of cherry kool-aid and grapefruit. Light-to-medium-bodied palate has more grapefruit, cherry and hints of honey. Fresh mouthfeel with zippy, refreshing acids. Short finish.
  
  Grouped seemed to enjoy this wine, with most ratings coming in as 3rd or 4th.
  Bottle = B ... Group rating = 2nd ... My rating = 5th

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• 2010 Villa Maria Pinot Noir Taylors Pass Vineyard 87 Points

  New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

  Nose had sweet black cherries with slight hints of vanilla and oak coming through. Palate followed the nose with a strong sweet cedar aspect. Nice balance and good mouthfeel. Slight hotness and mid-length finish.
  
  This wine seemed to polarize the group. numerous 2nd and 3rd place votes, but almost as many 6th and 7th place votes.
  Bottle = E ... Group rating = 3rd ... My rating = 6th

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• 2007 Icardi Langhe Pinot Nero Nej Flawed

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC

  Sadly ... Corked
  
  Bottle = F

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• 2011 Champ de Rêves Pinot Noir Anderson Valley 88 Points

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Prototypical Anderson Valley nose of red fruit and a palate dominated by strawberries with a touch of cherries. Nice finish. Nothing really stood out here. Going over my notes, my only entry was my entry line ... "Prototypical AV Pinot."
  
  I think the entire group nailed this one as the sole California entry.
  Bottle = G ... Group rating = 5th ... My rating = 4th

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• 2011 Foxtrot Pinot Noir Henricsson Vineyard 91 Points

  Canada, British Columbia, Okanagan Valley, Naramata Bench

  Nice nose of Christmas spices, eggnog and mostly red fruit aromas. Palate was bright and lively with tart cherry, pomegranate, y and sweet spice flavors. still a bit taut and primary. There's a nice sweetness to the palate, ample acidity and structure. I would have guessed this to be a Vosne Romanee 1er if I didn't know what was in the line up. Knowing that, I thought this was the Charmes-Chambertin GC I brought.
  
  The group, as one, loved this wine. All 1st and 2nd votes with just a single 4th place vote.
  Bottle = H ... Group rating = 1st ... My rating = 1st

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• 2006 Joseph Drouhin Charmes-Chambertin 89 Points

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

  Peculiar wine, with some signifcant traces of development. Nose had red fruit, with some unripeness (leafiness) and maturity (mushrooms and tobacco). Flavors of red fruit (cranberry), dried fruit (baked cherries) and some herbal (grassy) nuances. Lots of horse leather. Reminded me of an aged Bordeaux. While I enjoyed the wine, it didn't have Pinot Noir typicity.
  
  Another polarizing wine. Loved by the "old world-old wine" crowd (Freelon and Jason), panned by Heather and family (and Lee ... must not forget Lee :-)
  Bottle = I ... Group rating = 4th ... My rating = 3rd

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Quite an eye opener. Nothing save the California wine was as it seemed. The surprise to all was how well the Okanagan, CA wine showed. The Christmas spices were straight out of Vosne Romanee ... Since we didn't have a VR in the mix, I though for sure it was Charmes-Chambertin GC ... Which ended up being the horse-leather BDX wannabe :-)

As always, great times, good laughs ... Wonderful camaraderie.