VLG Does Pinots from 2003-2005 Blind

Jason Hagen's office
Tasted Friday, February 19, 2010 by WetRock with 560 views

Introduction

For this edition the theme was Pinot Noir from anywhere among vintages of 2003-2005. We got some BBQ sandwiches from Scotty's in Orange, bagged up all the wines and served them in flights of two. Over all I think most of us were disappointed by the showing of the wines. Not much really came together to grab our attention and most brought more complaints than praise. The top three were a near unanimous consensus.

#1 - 2003 Talley Rincon
#2 - 2002 Tandem Van Der Kamp
#3 - 2003 Arcadian Dierberg

I wouldn't call any of those complete or wow wines but they were all enjoyable in different ways. I would have voted for the Dain but it was disallowed because it was pulled out later on as a bonus by Jason to help us find another decent wine. ;)

Flight 1 (2 Notes)

Flight 2 (2 Notes)

  • 2004 Rutz Cellars Pinot Noir Sonoma Cuvée

    USA, California, Sonoma County

    Served blind. Ripe fruited nose showing black cherry, tar, graham crackers and brown sugar. Lean feel showing baked fruits with notes of cherry. Over all the palate becomes oddly flavored though.

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  • 2002 Tandem Pinot Noir Van der Kamp Vineyard

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Mountain

    Served blind. Brooding funky nose showing earth and stalky celery type notes. Big full concentrated palate that is on the woody side. Plenty of tannin and a bit of heat. Falls off at the finish. Overall the complexity was good enough to garner a second place vote for me.

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Flight 3 (2 Notes)

  • 2005 Weingut Juris Pinot Noir Selection

    Austria, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee

    Served blind. Dirty soil and earth nose with hints of black cherry and reduction later on. Tight and acidic palate. Notes of tar and reserved black fruit. Maybe in need of a decant or more time. Or the fruit may never balance out the secondary notes.
    Took about 2 glasses home and only got to it two days later. This had really opened with strong black cherry coming out on the nose and palate. Tart juiciness helps liven up the palate. Nothing spectacular but I would wait if I had another bottle for at least a couple years.

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  • 2004 WesMar Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Served blind. Very ripe fruited aromas showing some VA over grapey pruney primary fruit. Ripe ugly palate that showed like a cheap wine with VA. Jason wondered if it was flawed somehow and judging by the other notes I have to wonder. I didn't notice a 'flaw' as such. It was just ugly.

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Flight 4 (2 Notes)

  • 2003 Talley Vineyards Pinot Noir Rincon Vineyard

    USA, California, Central Coast, Arroyo Grande Valley

    Served blind. A touch of reduction over ripe big black cherry fruit and a touch of heat. Lots of fruit on a big rich juicy palate. Strong black cherry with notes of cinnamon and apple skins. Pushing the boundaries of balance this almost showed like a KB. This was enjoyable and had enough complexity to off set the fat fruit but is showing the '03 vintage. I wouldn't wait much longer on this as I don't think it has to structure to keep it enjoyable as the fruit fades.

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  • 2003 Arcadian Pinot Noir Dierberg Vineyard

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

    Served blind. Cloudy appearance. Nose shows all stem notes. Lean juicy feel with a big finish featuring grapefruit and some bitter tannin.

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Flight 5 (1 Note)

  • 2005 Nicolas Potel Volnay Vieilles Vignes

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay

    Served blind. Sweet nose showing a touch of heat behind notes of wood, cranberry, celery and apple. Big wood flavor on a flat palate with the most tannin I've ever experience in a Pinot. Clean acidic finish with some greenish notes. The tannins soften a bit with air. Ultimately the fruit doesn't stand up to the tannin and acid and you have to wonder if they will allow the fruit to shine through with any time.

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Flight 6 (1 Note)

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