Anderson Valley Deep End tasting at my place

My Place
Tasted Saturday, October 22, 2016 - Sunday, October 23, 2016 by Frank Murray III with 538 views

Flight 1 (2 Notes)

  • NV Didier-Ducos Fils Champagne Blanc Absolu

    France, Champagne

    (10/23/2016)

    This had a light touch of tonic water, lime, nice and dry with some green apple.

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  • 2002 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut

    France, Champagne

    (10/23/2016)

    I can see why people like vintage Krug. I don't have much experience with it so I'm not one to talk about how it compares--I just have not drank enough of it. This showed golden apple, terrific balance, lemon and yet t was a bit sweeet for me. An elegant style with a higher dosage, if I was to nitpick. I'll probably be in the minority here, to call the baby ugly.

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Flight 2 (3 Notes)

  • 2011 Copain Pinot Noir "En Bas" Kiser

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    (10/22/2016)

    Opened for an Anderson Valley dinner we are hosting later. Cellar temp, no aeration, simply an early look and then a long slow ox for later. Mix of red and black fruit, kiwi, tang, candied apple. Has the deep base that is for me how En Bas will often show. Finishes with the tang that comes from the 2011 vintage. This will get some needed light chilling and then hit the glass later next to the En Haut and also the 2011 Rhys Bearwallow, all for the same flight....over dinner, this displayed the dark razzy and apple of what is often En Bas. Tangy, juicy and a spicy finish. For some who poo-poo'd the 2011 vintage, this wine keeps showing for me that the vintage did make some solid things....retasted the following AM from leftover. Razzy, hard candy and zesty, little pine needle too. Lacks the stuffing though to be something I would age. My advice is to enjoy these 2011s now and not age them, as I don't see them improving with bottle time.

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  • 2011 Copain Pinot Noir "En Haut" Kiser

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    (10/23/2016)

    Drank next to the 2011 En Bas and 2011 Rhys Bear. The En Haut here drinks with the tangy acidity of the vintage, but with a shading of more perceived ripeness and depth, and the characteristic blue fruit. Smooth, and as I said in my note this past May, I'd not age this vintage, but instead enjoy it now. Drinking well.

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  • 2011 Rhys Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    (10/23/2016)

    Drank next to the 2 Copain Kiser 2011s, which on this night for me bested the Rhys. Light pepper, herbal (stems?), dark cherry, feels a little heavy on the palate, which a few thought might be some oak/wood impact? Finishes with a savory note, too. This bottle seemed to lack the balance that I enjoyed in the previous two from the past. Hmm.

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Flight 3 (4 Notes)

  • 2014 Rhys Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    (10/22/2016)

    Opened about 45 mins ago, added a light chill to it. Light clove on the aromatic, red fruit skin. Juicy and a little spicy, with a a long, zingy cherry impression into the finish. Rocky finish with some soil, black cherry and the same zingy acidity, almost prickly, which I enjoy. This will get another 4-5 hours of air before it gets served with other wines from the Deep End (mainly Copain Kiser and Wendling, along with the new Rivers-Marie Bear).....Over dinner, this showed cherry, red apple, herb and like the 2014 Copain En Haut next to it, both were pretty coiled. Spicy, long finish with same herbal note. This will need time but has the solid raw material....retasted the following AM from the leftover. Has the same herbal quality, spicy too. Much the same as last night, but shows a juicier quality that emerged with the extra air. The core of this squarely about cherry and a soil, loamy quality. Will need time but like with the other 2014s from last night, this is showing additional complexity and terrific raw material.

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  • 2014 Copain Pinot Noir "En Bas" Kiser

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    (10/22/2016)

    Like the2014 En Haut, I had to add this to the database. Unreleased, an early peek. Opened about an hour ago, added a light chill. Tasted alongside the 2014 En Haut. I find the En Haut a little plusher with more depth, whereas the En Bas is at this stage more juicy, lots of blueberry fruit. It's got a real cool signature of acidity, tangy raspberry and has the rocky, mineral note of the En Haut. Will get tasted later next to the 14 Rhys Bear, 14 Copain Kiser En Haut and 14 Copain Wendling, all part of the Deep End of Anderson Valley......Over dinner, this was the standout for me of the 2014s we drank. It showed the best of all with red apple, mineral, lithe raspberry, really beautiful. Has balance too, yet it has the same tighter grip that all the 2014s showed.....retasted the following AM from leftover. Did the retaste right after the same for the 2014 En Haut. Really cool how different these wines are. The rocky, raspberry tones here versus the blue, richer tones of the En Haut. The acidity and racy nature of the finish is what stands out with this additional air from last night. Will need to soften a little more with time but this feels to me like it will be ready sooner than the En Haut. Really good this morning.

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  • 2014 Copain Pinot Noir "En Haut" Kiser

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    (10/22/2016)

    Added to database, this is unreleased so we can call this an early peek on what is the top slope of Kiser. Opened about an hour ago, added a light chill. Pretty coiled up, rocky in tone as Kiser EH often is for me when young. Has the blue and boysen quality of good EH, too. Little tangy in acidity, supporting the pure fruit. As it airs more, dark raspberry, similar to the 2014 Copain Wendling that I tasted alongside it. This has a lot of really cool raw material, it will get another 5-6 hours of slow ox before we taste it over dinner.....over dinner, this was tasted next to the 2014 Rhys Bear, and like that wine this is coiled and tight. Rocky and blue fruited, and my notes say "stem", as if perhaps some was used here--not sure. This has youthful tones and seems quite young, will need time but as with the other 2014s we drank this evening, this is unreleased....retasted the following AM from the leftover. Lots of structure here too alongside the same jammy blueberry and apple skin. Real good purity here and it's woven into the chalky tones of the wine. My hunch is that this will be a really good version of En Haut, will need to time to come together but raw material is evident.

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  • 2014 Copain Pinot Noir Wendling Vineyard

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    (10/22/2016)

    Arrived this week. Opened about 45 mins ago, put a light chill on it. This is the 3rd vintage of Wendling, eager to try this. Aromatically, faint hint of matchstick and graphite. Little plusher and fruit driven than the 14 Rhys Bearwallow, which is across the street from Wendling. That wine is more about cherry, this is more about red apple and darker raspberry. In fact, I had some organic raspberries for lunch a few hours back and it tastes quite similar to that purity, just a little darker than the berries. Good depth and I'm going to let 5-6 hours of air do it's work on this via slow ox....over dinner, this showed a bit rough, and my notes say slightly boozy, which is odd as this is listed at 13.3% and I rarely use the term boozy for any new era Copain wines. Tends even to a black fruited profile, riper edged. Finishes rocky, barrel sample-like in tone. In the finish, there is some red fruit lurking in the core but it seems buried under the youth. This will need time, and of note to be fair, this is unreleased.........able to retaste following AM, so lots of air now. Boozy quality is gone, this is very plush and fruit centric now. Picked up some cranberry tones to go with the darker fruit. Based on how this tastes now, like it much more, shows what air can do.

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Flight 4 (4 Notes)

  • 2015 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    (10/22/2016)

    Opened about 45 mins ago, put on a light chill. This is the first vintage of RM Bearwallow, too. This is tight. Has the rose petal, raspberry and mineral of what I find in the Rhys Bear. As it lengthens in the finish, it picks up cherry and an impression of new barrel. Will be part of our Deep End Anderson Valley tasting later here at the house, and I expect some longer aeration will give a better look....over dinner, this was enjoyed by several at the table. Vanilla, cherry, earth. For a young wine, and I suspect only recently bottled, it's gonna be one to like. I think the biggest ABV of the table tonight too (the 2013 Cabot Nash Mill was 14.4%, I think), yet the alcohol here does not show....retasted following AM from leftover. Interesting to see a TRB/RM wine that has this much cherry, along with the red apple. I often think of his wines with the orange peel, pine, cranberry/black notes but this is squarely Deep End in flavors. Still residual barrel tannin showing this AM and this is a young wine but the early balance and depth is already here. Very good.

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  • 2013 Cabot Vineyards Pinot Noir Nash Mill

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    (10/23/2016)

    Tasted amongst several other Anderson Valley PNs, like Copain, Rhys, etc. This Cabot didn't show well for me, as it came across heavy to me, bigger styled. The aromatic tipped off the alc too (listed on bottle at 14.4%), and it just seemed to come up short on balance for me. I like John's wines but on this night, I didn't favor this one, although in fairness at the table, a few did disagree with me.....retasted the following AM from leftover. I like this a bit more today, yet it does retain the bigger qualities I found last night. It is going to appeal to the palate that likes bigger framed CA PN.

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  • 2010 Copain Pinot Noir "En Haut" Kiser

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    (10/23/2016)

    This drank very well and was in my Top 3 for the night. Floral, juicy, blue fruited, kiwi, good energy and bright. No hurry in drinking this wine as I still think it has some upside, too.....retasted the followiinjg AM from leftover. Getting red apple in this bottle, little loam too, and the blue tones are faded back on this now, bit more juicy red, touch of vanilla. Has a gentle, forward quality and I would say this will peak in the next year or so, too.

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  • 2007 Copain Pinot Noir "En Bas" Kiser

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    (10/22/2016)

    Ahhh, my old friend, what is the 2007 En Bas, which for me has always been the iconic PN that Wells has made and one of my all-time CA favorites. Pulled this for a wine dinner tonight, an Anderson Valley tasting for the Deep End. Cellar temp, needs a light chill. Opened and pour for now, to create some neck space and let it begin its slow ox for about 4 hours. Still drinking great, the structure being smoothed out with what is almost 10 years. Floral, herb from the age, still tangy, delicious berry, blue and red tones. This will be the oldest wine on the table tonight, too. More to come later.....after getting cool and allowing a few hours to pass, I hit another pour. So good. Even with the big vintage that was 2007, this wine never gets off the rails. It continues to retain a juicy, cherry quality, has great depth and balance. One more glass to come later....over dinner, the aromatic showed a little raisin, not something I can recall getting in the wine before, although the 2007 Kiser En Haut showed it so in my last couple bottles of that so I should not be surprised for the En Bas. Maintained the razzy note, good energy and I would think now this is near peak and has a window of 12 months more to shine.....retasted the following AM from leftover. Well, I have to admit, in redoing this wine from the last glass that remained from the dinner, I didn't spit this one out. Yes, there is a light whiff of raisin here in the aroma again, but the palate is delicious. Unlike the 2011 En Bas that I tasted just prior, the 2007 shows the power of the vintage as it's got 4 additional years of age and it's 2X the wine of the 2011. This 2007 still has acid, fruit and presence yet I still say it's peaking and in a perfect place.

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Flight 5 (4 Notes)

  • 2012 Ladd Cellars Pinot Noir Nash Mill Anderson Valley

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    (10/23/2016)

    Bingo. This was the surprise for me of the evening, as I had no experience with this wine from Eric. Showed herb, dark cherry, really good acidity and a touch of caramel. Good mix of fruit and structure, a really complete glass of PN and in my Top 3 of the night. Eric, you did good here--nice AV pinot, brother.......retasting the following AM, it's sat out overnight with about a glass left. What strikes me about this wine today is the juicy, spicy quality that I didn't pick up on last night. I think too it's less complex than last night, instead a little more crunchy, what I would call 'mouthwatering', which I don't usually use in my TNs but it's the quality that comes through, the word/feel that resonates for me. I dig this.

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  • 2012 Rhys Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    (10/23/2016)

    This drank like Rhys Bear should, really surpassing the 2011 that we had earlier in the evening. I know, we are talking about 2 vintages, both being very different but the contrast was evident. The 2012 got back to what I dig about Bear--cherry, soil, herb and red apple. There is some stem influence here and a little herbal quality, too. I enjoyed this......retasted the following AM from leftover. Wow, so much distinctive, soily cherry notes, touch of game. Then the acidity comes through the back of the finish, like a savory red apple skin quality. This is super, really distinctive this morning and shows what air can do to really frame out a wine, especially drinking them one at a time, doing these retastes of last night's bottles. This is terrific.

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  • 2012 Copain Pinot Noir Wendling Vineyard

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    (10/23/2016)

    Bam, loved it. I consistently enjoy this inaugural vintage of Wendling. It mixes blue and red, has the zesty quality of the Deep End terroir, a terrific push of fruit and a long finish. Maybe the best wine of the night for me, alongside the 2012 Ladd Nash Mill and 2010 Copain Kiser En Haut. Very good.....retasted the following morning from the small leftover. Really good, shows the same balance and polish, with the same kind of cranberry of the 2014, raspberry and touch of black fruit too. Little tang in the finish. Super.

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  • 2013 Rhys Pinot Noir Porcupine Hill

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    (10/23/2016)

    This was an open pour, cellar temp. Using for an Anderson Valley dinner tonight. Pretty approachable right out of the bottle, slick texture with a tangy bing cherry, soil and mineral. Will slox ox for next 4-5 hours so it can join the meal later. Lighter in color than most of the wines we had across the evening. Zesty cherry, pepper, complex and youthful. Clean, bright cherry fruit and the same red cherry finish. Terrific....retasted this AM from last night's leftover. Slick and polished now, round. Has a spicy element accenting the cherry in the finish but it's become less complex from last night, more simple and smooth now. Seems quite approachable too.

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Flight 6 (1 Note)

  • 2007 Carlisle Petite Sirah Dry Creek Valley

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley

    (10/23/2016)

    Drank at the end of a long wine dinner, pulled and opened last minute. Seemed to drink well, bigger boned and a little heat in the aromatic....retasted the following AM from leftover. I'll pull back on my heat comment from last night, as I don't find much of it here today. Plush, light chocolate, dark berry, spicy finish. The ripe tones from the vintage do show, as it's showing the juicy, fresh black fruit quality. Seems ready to go with this air, as I don't find any real tannin left after this much air.

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