Awesome bottle -- there's some beautiful red fruit with a hint of strawberries here. Structural too with some good dusty earth elements. Still very much alive and fresh, these old Oregon wines just keep on impressing me.
For a change, it was psmith who said this was corked and me the opposite. It's a bit of a runt in the lineup, with a fair touch of green. It's not quite the offensive green 2004 red Burgundy green, but there's a slight underripe, pyrazine thing here. The palate has some nice earthiness, but this wine feels a little thin in the context of the lineup.
A fairly intense wine, with a lovely mix of red and black fruit here. There's a bit of a raspberry/blackberry thing in this wine, with just a touch of sweetness from the fruit. There's a mild dusty quality that also adds a good amount of complexity.
I thought this was another of the weaker wines in the lineup today. There was a pronounced smoky quality here, and the fruit feels a little thin, leaving you with a slight green sensation. Just not as rich and full-bodied as many of the other wines in the lineup.
Almost the unanimous favourite tonight; this was indeed a brilliant bottle of pinot. It balances lots of tart but ripe red fruit so well. High acid, bright, and just a flashy wine that's not overweight. Lithe and elegant, and so nice to drink right now.
This is fairly similar to the 2008, with plenty of red fruit and beautiful acids, but I think what stuck out here was a spot of candied sweetness. It's still a very nice wine, but it doesn't have the same sort of balance and sensibility that the 2008 had.
Quite crunchy. This seems to be a bit of a cooler vintage, and the red fruit feels a bit tart. The nose is a giveaway that the acidity is high on this wine, and that is borne out on the palate. There's a bit of a stemmy, lean quality here too; this is certainly pleasant, but I prefer the wines with a little more flesh on the bones.
My favourite of the three 2011s -- this was the most complex and complete of the wines. There's a really nice brightness here, and overall there's a really approachable quality here, despite the relatively bigger structure here. Feels like a fairly cool wine; it's not too ripe so there's not quite the fruit density.
My least favourite of the three 2011s -- this seemed to be the thinnest and most green (though nowhere as bad as how red Burgundy turns out in the bad years). This is just a little thin overall, and the acidity seems to poke out a little more than most.
The nose on this is fairly muted and shows relatively less than the other wines. Nonetheless, the fruit profile here comes off as slightly candied, and there's a bit more ripeness here. However, next to the Evelyn, this didn't seem to have quite as much complexity.
2015 I know was a fairly ripe year for Willamette, and it shows here. The fruit is easily the fattest and most opulent, although there isn't the candied note I found in some of the other vintages. There's adequate acidity to balance out the opulent fruit, but I'll have to admit I preferred some of the cooler vintages more.
New champagne producer for me. The nose has some of those big house autolytic flavours -- yeast and bread -- followed by some of the tart apple and citrus aromas that are more typical of the vintage. The palate shows the extra brut character for sure; this is an acid-freak kind of wine for sure. For my grandes-marques-focussed palate, I think this went a little overboard in that dimension to me. There's good material here, and I think the acidity will allow this to age a bit. I'd hope it settles down.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Great stuff -- this is Roulot quality chardonnay right here. The nose shows a really awesome flinty note which is then followed by plenty of acidity. It has the weight from the vintage but none of the oiliness. With some time, I'm certain that this will mellow out; I'm thoroughly convinced by this bottle and will look to add some to my own cellar.
I get a feeling that I like the 2008 Willamette vintage. Like the 2008 Brick House Dijonnais, this has a really nice balance of tart (but ripe) red fruit, plenty of acids, and fruit that fills the palate. There's a crunchy element here that really appeals to me, and a slight hint of minerality that provides some additional freshness.
1995 Brick House Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 93 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Awesome bottle -- there's some beautiful red fruit with a hint of strawberries here. Structural too with some good dusty earth elements. Still very much alive and fresh, these old Oregon wines just keep on impressing me.
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2004 Brick House Pinot Noir Cuvée du Tonnelier 90 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
For a change, it was psmith who said this was corked and me the opposite. It's a bit of a runt in the lineup, with a fair touch of green. It's not quite the offensive green 2004 red Burgundy green, but there's a slight underripe, pyrazine thing here. The palate has some nice earthiness, but this wine feels a little thin in the context of the lineup.
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2006 Brick House Pinot Noir Boulder Block 93 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge
A fairly intense wine, with a lovely mix of red and black fruit here. There's a bit of a raspberry/blackberry thing in this wine, with just a touch of sweetness from the fruit. There's a mild dusty quality that also adds a good amount of complexity.
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2007 Brick House Pinot Noir Cuvée du Tonnelier 88 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge
I thought this was another of the weaker wines in the lineup today. There was a pronounced smoky quality here, and the fruit feels a little thin, leaving you with a slight green sensation. Just not as rich and full-bodied as many of the other wines in the lineup.
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2008 Brick House Pinot Noir Les Dijonnais Ribbon Ridge 93 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge
Almost the unanimous favourite tonight; this was indeed a brilliant bottle of pinot. It balances lots of tart but ripe red fruit so well. High acid, bright, and just a flashy wine that's not overweight. Lithe and elegant, and so nice to drink right now.
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2009 Brick House Pinot Noir Les Dijonnais Ribbon Ridge 90 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge
This is fairly similar to the 2008, with plenty of red fruit and beautiful acids, but I think what stuck out here was a spot of candied sweetness. It's still a very nice wine, but it doesn't have the same sort of balance and sensibility that the 2008 had.
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2010 Brick House Pinot Noir Cuvée du Tonnelier 90 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge
Quite crunchy. This seems to be a bit of a cooler vintage, and the red fruit feels a bit tart. The nose is a giveaway that the acidity is high on this wine, and that is borne out on the palate. There's a bit of a stemmy, lean quality here too; this is certainly pleasant, but I prefer the wines with a little more flesh on the bones.
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2011 Brick House Pinot Noir Evelyn's 90 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge
My favourite of the three 2011s -- this was the most complex and complete of the wines. There's a really nice brightness here, and overall there's a really approachable quality here, despite the relatively bigger structure here. Feels like a fairly cool wine; it's not too ripe so there's not quite the fruit density.
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2011 Brick House Pinot Noir Les Dijonnais Ribbon Ridge 88 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge
My least favourite of the three 2011s -- this seemed to be the thinnest and most green (though nowhere as bad as how red Burgundy turns out in the bad years). This is just a little thin overall, and the acidity seems to poke out a little more than most.
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2011 Brick House Pinot Noir Cuvée du Tonnelier 90 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge
The nose on this is fairly muted and shows relatively less than the other wines. Nonetheless, the fruit profile here comes off as slightly candied, and there's a bit more ripeness here. However, next to the Evelyn, this didn't seem to have quite as much complexity.
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2015 Brick House Pinot Noir Cuvée du Tonnelier 90 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge
2015 I know was a fairly ripe year for Willamette, and it shows here. The fruit is easily the fattest and most opulent, although there isn't the candied note I found in some of the other vintages. There's adequate acidity to balance out the opulent fruit, but I'll have to admit I preferred some of the cooler vintages more.
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2008 Dehours Champagne Extra Brut Brisefer 90 Points
France, Champagne
New champagne producer for me. The nose has some of those big house autolytic flavours -- yeast and bread -- followed by some of the tart apple and citrus aromas that are more typical of the vintage. The palate shows the extra brut character for sure; this is an acid-freak kind of wine for sure. For my grandes-marques-focussed palate, I think this went a little overboard in that dimension to me. There's good material here, and I think the acidity will allow this to age a bit. I'd hope it settles down.
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2015 Domaine Darviot-Perrin Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Great stuff -- this is Roulot quality chardonnay right here. The nose shows a really awesome flinty note which is then followed by plenty of acidity. It has the weight from the vintage but none of the oiliness. With some time, I'm certain that this will mellow out; I'm thoroughly convinced by this bottle and will look to add some to my own cellar.
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2008 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard 90 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton
I get a feeling that I like the 2008 Willamette vintage. Like the 2008 Brick House Dijonnais, this has a really nice balance of tart (but ripe) red fruit, plenty of acids, and fruit that fills the palate. There's a crunchy element here that really appeals to me, and a slight hint of minerality that provides some additional freshness.
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