Another Round of California Vs Burgundy Blind

Frank Murray's Casa
Tasted Saturday, June 16, 2012 by WetRock with 783 views

Introduction

Frank set up another round of Burgundy versus California blind and we were happy to participate. It was simple bagged bottles of Cali Pinot and Burgundy tasted side by side. All wines served blind and left that way until the end after everyone voted.

There were several big surprises for me but overall neither side really came out as better than the other. There were some wines that were seemingly easy to guess origin and others not at all. The Rhys Swan Terrace stole the show and I think the majority of the table voted it as their favorite. I did as well but I did not write down the total votes for favorite wines so Frank will have to provide those eventually. Kudos to the group for a bunch of really nice bottles thrown into the tasting though. We had top flight wines from both sides of the pond which made for a strong tasting as well as great company for a fun evening.

My votes were:
1st - #9 - 07 Rhys Swan Terrace
2nd - #13 - 03 Vougeraie Bonne Mares
3rd - #3 - 2006 Clos Pepe

Flight 1 - Flight #1 (4 Notes)

  • 2002 Domaine Dujac Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Aux Combottes

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

    Served blind. Nose shows iron and ripe cherry fruits. Bit of heat. Nicely focused, clean palate. Very tannic and tight. Guessed Burg. I think this needs a bit more time but is pretty good in a bigger Burgundy sense.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2006 Chasseur Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Served blind. Nose of bakes, stewed fruits and some heat. Full, broad, round palate with more heat. Guessed Cali.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2006 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir

    USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

    Served blind. Notes of cherry and iron on a reserved nose. Clean and somewhat hard though with a light palate feel. Concentrated cherry fruits. Had trouble placing this Cal vs Burg. Nice wine though and I voted it as my #3.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2009 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru

    Served blind. Ripe, full fruited nose. Earthy with some reductive/sulfur stank. Rich somewhat fleshy fruit but with a light palate feel. Light tannin. Changed a lot in the glass over a few minutes. Guesses Burgundy. This will need a few years to come together I'm sure but I liked it's potential.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

Flight 2 - Flight #2 (4 Notes)

  • 2007 Copain Pinot Noir Wentzel Vineyard

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    Served blind. Ripe fruit on the nose coming off baked and overdone. Sharp with somewhat candied. Lean feeling but somewhat clipped. Guessed Cali. This was my biggest 'WTF' moment on the reveals. Showed far off from what I remember of this wine or any Copains from 07.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2008 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Served blind. Decanted about 2 hours prior to consumption. Dark, dense nose with notes like stems, herbs and mints. Almost SCM Cab like. Rich and dense. Tannic and chewy. Steve was joking about putting a Schrader in the lineup so I couldn't get Cab out of my head. While it was obviously not like a Schrader it did somewhere resemble Cabernet from Santa Cruz Mtns which has me wondering about terroir coming through. Had a hard time placing this but would have had to lean on a Rhys estate knowing I had brought one. I marked as liking it even though I wrestled with it. Clearly in need of time.

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

  • 2009 Maison Ilan Charmes-Chambertin Aux Charmes Hautes

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

    Served blind. Very odd nose. Sulfur, caramel and heat. I noted that I hated the nose as it didn't improve in the glass. The palate is fat and weighty with lots of fruit. Light tannin with a bot of heat. This changed a lot in glass on the palate. Was having a hard time placing this initially guessing Cali but then changing it to Burg.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2010 Poe Wines Pinot Noir Angel Camp Vineyard

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    Served blind. Pretty nose being bright with lots of citrus. Juicy palate with a lean feel. More citrus and an almost mineral like note. The finish felt a bit cleft giving it a bit of a bite. All the citrus and lean feel made me guess Rivers Marie.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

Flight 3 - Flight #3 (4 Notes)

  • 2007 Rhys Pinot Noir Swan Terrace

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Served blind. Dark Bing cherry nose with notes of citrus and spice. Some more clear notes of stem show up later. Fresh and bright palate. Tart juicy fruit that lingers on the palate for quite some time. Much better than that sounds and seemed to be the big favorite at the table. I guessed a Rivers Marie Summa Old Vines. A terrific wine in any case. This did surprise me at the reveal as the last 07 Rhys I had was closed and not pleasurable. This was quite the opposite.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2008 Domaine Dujac Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

    Served blind. Earthy mineral, iron like notes among baked and somewhat candied fruit. Broad and weighty yet lean feeling. Nicely balanced with acidity though. Guessed Cali.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2009 Rhys Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard

    USA, California, San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County

    Served blind. Dark cherry with sulfur and iron. There is some heat and a clear note of brett. Not very expressive and very tight. Very tannic. The brett is noticeable here on the palate as well. Guessed Burg.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 2007 Lucie & Auguste Lignier Clos de la Roche

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru

    Served blind. Complex and fresh nose. A touch reserved and tiny bit of brett. Lean and balanced. Very focused and very tight right now. I like where this could go though. Guessed Burg.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

Flight 4 - Flight #4 (5 Notes)

×
×