WCC California Pinot Noir Blind Tasting II

My regular Albany-area group got together to taste California Pinot Noir at the Milestone Restaurant in Glenmont, NY. A long, long time ago when this was known as the Stone Ends Restaurant, we frequently had wine dinners here. After several incarnations, it is now the Milestone with young chef Michael Mastrantuono. Based on tonight, it looks promising. The wines, not so much. All wines were served blind. We knew the theme was California Pinot Noir, but not any of the ones (except the one that person brought). We also did not know if there would be one or more ringers.

With Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp with a Honey Mustard Glaze and Barley Risotto. Tasty, and not bad with the wine, but not good.

Not sure if 2010 is a much weaker vintage for California Pinot Noir than 2009 (Flight 3) or if it was the choice of producers, but the wines in this flight were so much lighter than the wines in Flight 3, in a way that 1 year of aging could not cause.

• 2010 Robert Foley Pinot Noir Hudson Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

  Bright purple. Fragrant nose of allspice and cherries. Thick with bright raspberry fruit. Soft tannins, lovely.

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• 2010 Kutch Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch 91 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Lightest in color in this flight. Bright sweet cherry nose. Silky and elegant in the mouth. Great class. Really comes into focus on the finish. Could use a few more years to really show itself. 90-92 points.

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• 2010 Hyde Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir Flawed

  USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

  Horribly corked. Obvious from the nose, but I still had to taste it. Big mistake! Barf.

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• 2010 Patz & Hall Pinot Noir Hyde Vineyard 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

  Bright red and black fruit. Young. Nice tannins. Thick and juicy. Needs a few years. 88-90 points.

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With Spinach Salad with Crimini Mushrooms, Carrots, and Horseradish Dressing. Good salad, terrible choice for this wine tasting.

Based on this flight, I would say that California Pinot Noir doesn't make it past 10 years of age. These were fairly awful.

• 1997 Abundance Vineyards Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard 83 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  Caramel nose. Lovely as sherry. Quite oxidized, but not undrinkable.

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• 1998 Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir Valhalla Vineyard 77 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Interesting spicy nose. Sweet, mildly oxidized, with a hint of an aged sour flavor. Odd. OTH.

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• 1998 Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir Dutton Ranch 73 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Elegant, but with drying tannins and little fruit. Either going over the hill or it was always out of balance.

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• 2002 Failla Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 84 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Dirty cherry nose, but not unappealing. Earthy with almost no fruit. Again, OTH or just a poorly made wine.

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• 2002 Melville Pinot Noir Estate 86 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  Some red fruit and Burgundy stones in the nose. Appealing sour cherry in the mouth. Very short finish keeps it from being very good. A Burgundy ringer?

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With Slow-braised Duck Confit and Wild Mushroom Risotto. Terrific dish and a great match to the wines. A real winner for wine dinners.

Generally more typical, more ripe, and more appealing than the first 2 flights.

• 2009 Sequana Vineyards Pinot Noir Sundawg Ridge 92 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Green Valley of Russian River Valley

  Dusty nose of cherries. thick, ripe with firm tannins. This wine is much more what I expected tonight. This is the first wine I might pick out blind as CA PN. Sweet fruit. A rich and tasty wine.

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• 2009 Abstract Cellars Pinot Noir 93 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

  Big rich tannic, but with some Burgundian character. Still very young. Lots of potential.

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• 2009 Craggy Range Pinot Noir Single Vineyard Te Muna Road Vineyard 93 Points

  New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough

  Complex and elegant, but still has rich, fragrant red fruit. I like this quite a bit.

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• 2009 Belle Glos Pinot Noir Las Alturas Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

  Slightly medicinal red fruit in the nose and mouth. Interesting, but others seem to like it more than I do. Group #4 WOTN.

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With Pork Tenderloin with a Cranberry-Sage Stuffing, with Demiglace, Jasmine Wild Rice, and Summer Vegetables.

Not only were these less than 10 years old, they were also more extracted. I would expect these wines to hold up longer than those from Flight 2 did. Two or three could even improve with more age.

• 2004 Kistler Pinot Noir Cuvée Elizabeth Bodega Headlands 94 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Smokey red fruit nose. Thick rich and sweet in the mouth, but with a great sense of balance and harmony. WOTN so far for me. Has a strong appealing flavor of Rainier cherries. Group #3 WOTN. #1 WOTN for me.

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• 2005 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir La Neblina 92 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Big smoky nose. Thick and ripe. Very good, but without the harmony of the previous wine. Group #2 WOTN.

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• 2006 Elizabeth Spencer Pinot Noir Block Seven

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  No nose. Rich thick tart tannic, downright gunky in the mouth. Just too much extraction for a PN. Could this be a Syrah ringer? Could mellow out with more time. Judgement reserved. Group WOTN. (No accounting for taste ;)

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• 2006 Landmark Pinot Noir Solomon Hills Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  Tart tannic with a long sweet finish. Seems a bit simple but should improve with more air or age.

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Halfway thought this evening, I proposed we never again have a Cali PN tasting, but the last 2 flights did pick it up quite a bit. Still, I'm not looking to increase my meager collection of PN any time soon.