Weekend Pinot - Brewer Clifton, Mortet, Bize

A small random selection picked with evolutionary curiosity.
Served with Roast Chicken.
It was fun to compare Brewer, which I think is made in a Burgundian style, to the Beaune and Nuits and see if Ashley's had any spirtual home.

• 1996 Simon Bize Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesses

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru

  The nose on this is just brilliant, all ripe red summer fruit with some fantastic Burgundian stink - truffles, poo and earth. Can't get enough of that pong! The palate doesn't quite deliver; its a little lacking in the fruit department that advertised itself so brazenly in my nostrils, and the acidity compresses the whole taste experience. I think it just needs a little more time, and hope the acidity will fade by next year because if the palate ever lives up to what the perfume promises this will be great stuff. Wth Bize's track record I'm optimistic.

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• 1997 Domaine Denis Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St. Jacques

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

  Marvellous! This was head and shoulders above the other two. It shows a deep, dark brooding colour- these were Mortet’s extraction years - that belies the elegance and precision of the palate. This ethereal weight is a Mortet Lavaux trait, that is given a little extra punch thanks to the ripeness of fruit. No noticeable 1997 heat or over ripeness, just great morello cherry and wild raspberry fruit, a lovely earthy hint and smooth and sensual palate that excites body and brain. I love Burgundy and I love Mortet, put the three of us together and it gets a little exciting. This is ready to go but will carry on, perhaps needs to as the only thing lacking were some dirty, foresty secondary nuance that will come with a bit more time in bottle.

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• 2002 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir Ashley's Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  This was lovely, though perhaps suffered next to the Gevrey, which is kind of what this Ashley’s aspires to be. Definitely Burgundian Heart meets California Soul. Great ripe fruit, fairly heady alcohol though you don't really notice it under the structure and concentration. But seemed a little like a blunt instrument next to the precision of the Mortet scalpel. Lovely stuff though, very lush and drinkable, I like what Brewer-Clifton are doing, some of the most individual Cali Pinots I've tried. I'm happily going to age a few and see what happens.

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Well Mortet takes the honours, the Brewer had a little Gervrey about it and the Bize could do better.