Persian Food Meets Pinot and Chard

The Murray Casa
Tasted Saturday, March 28, 2009 by Frank Murray III with 1,705 views

Introduction

11 of us pitched in for persian food from Bahar in Mission Viejo and joined the cuisine with a mix of mostly Cal pinots and charfs. For the food, which for me was consistently good last night, we enjoyed:

A classic hummus and must kheyar appetizers. We then had an adas polo (saffron rice with fig, raisin and lentil) and shirin polo (pistacho and almond, mixed again with saffron rice and orange rind--this was very good with the orange rind giving it a real cool essence), followed by both beef and chicken koobideh. For me the varied spices in the food, more subtle than overt, helped let the wine reflect through the food.

Flight 1 - Chardonnays (6 Notes)

A mix of chards. The coincidence of having the 2 Theriots show up was a nice contrast.

Flight 2 - Pinot Noirs (9 Notes)

I was largely disappointed or underwhelmed by these wines, aside from the last two.

  • 1995 Hanzell Pinot Noir Flawed

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Some debate on whether this wine had some TCA in it, given the bouquet and some muted fruit. I still found some things to like, such as some black cherry and a licorice-type note. However, the finish was astringent and there was a musty kind of note to it. In the end, it's worth checking off the flawed bottle box here.

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  • 2002 Flowers Pinot Noir Andreen-Gale Sonoma Coast

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Powdery note on nose with some crushed rock, too. Dark with a juicy black cherry. All right I guess.

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  • 2002 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Flax Vineyard

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    My oldest WS from my cellar and a wine, like with the Beringer Sbragia chard, that I expected better from. Like with the Beringer, the WS fell flat. Some bramble and raisin, with dark color. One dimensional and a bit gooey with fig paste and jammy. Andy called it stewed. Disappointing and IMO, if you have this in your cellar, drink it now as it ain't going to get better from here.

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  • 2005 Aston Pinot Noir Clone 777

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Loamy and peaty nose with earthy red fruits and too much acidity for what the wine offers up. Also a hint of metal to the nose. Didn't care for it.

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  • 2002 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir Marsh

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Reminded me of syrah. Char, high acids, roasted red fruit and no delicacy. Branwny acids on the finish and the red edges of this wine turned me off.

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  • 2003 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir Marsh

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    More blue fruit and adding more of a rasberry red versus the cherry, in contrast to the 2002 bottling. The acidity, in contrast with the 2002, is more supportive than distracting in this 2003. I liked this overall better than the 2002.

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  • 2005 Bohème Wines Pinot Noir Marsh Vineyard

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Stuffing but nothing special here for me. I just wrote in my notes that it lacked defnition. Overall, I was not impressed with any of the Marsh (Radio-Coteau and this one) bottlings.

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  • 2006 Evesham Wood Pinot Noir En Dessous Seven Springs Vineyard

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

    I liked this wine and the richness it showed without being too big. I asked Jason about the oak on it, as it seemed to be hitting the edges and texture of the wine for me, and he indicated he thought it was around 30-40%, if I recall. Young and probably will be better in a year or two. Nice.

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  • 2006 Windy Oaks Estate Pinot Noir Estate Cuvée Schultze Family Vineyard

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Light color, sweet strawberry, kiwi and a nice wine. My first Windy Oaks.

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Flight 3 - Rivers-Marie Pinots (3 Notes)

Well, having been late to the party it seems, I guess I need to sign up for the RM mailing list. I thought the OR below was terrific and a wine that really did it for me. I know a couple people were talking over the wines and preferring the Summa but the richness and expression of the OR was my favorite.

  • 2004 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    This was the least popular of the several RMs we had open, as shown by the amount left in the bottle at the end of the night (about 1/3rd versus the other RMs that were drained). Blue and black fruits, fair amount of acidity but seemed syrupy to me. Not bad but not to the level of the 2006 RMs that went along side it.

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  • 2006 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Summa Old Vines

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Real nice wine. Mix of fruits but it all fitting together in a medley. Tremendous balance with minerals and nothing out of place.

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  • 2006 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Occidental Ridge Vineyard

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Maybe my WOTN (although a couple of the 2007 Alesia wines were right there with this one). Lots of spicy, intense blue fruit and some loam. Delicious and seemed to be on par bigger than the 2006 RM Summa, but the OR here is still tight and youthful with minerals and some tannin. I would like to have retasted this wine today or better yet, in a few years. I think I will need to source a couple of these to see where it goes. Terrific wine.

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Flight 4 - 2007 Alesia Pinots Preview (3 Notes)

Chris Whetstone supplies us with a preview of some of the 2007 Alesia pinots. IMO, these wines do a solid job of expressing dark colors, lower alcohols and big flavors without the excessive ripeness. I was very impressed with these wines.

  • 2007 Rhys Alesia Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Stalky note on the nose and a deeply fruited wine with blue and black flavors but lacking the overt or syrupy sweetness. A stony and soily/loam finish. Listed @ 14.1%.

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  • 2007 Rhys Alesia Pinot Noir Green Valley of Russian River Valley

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

    Like with the other 2007 Alesias tonight, dark colored and some powerful whole cluster on the nose, almost adding a peppery or spicy note to the wine. Black raspberry, plum sauce and showing a ripe/dense feel. Note of licorice and lots of acidity and tannin that keep the finish tight. For me, not as good as the 07 Alesia Falstaff but close in total package.

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  • 2007 Rhys Alesia Pinot Noir Falstaff Road Vineyard

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Bitchen. Of the 3 2007 Alesias tonight (S Coast and Green Valley), the whole cluster/stalk is most prominent on this wine. Again, dark colored, rich and deeply fruited with my notes saying "a pile of blueberry" and big tight minerally finish. A terrific wine and alongside the 2006 RM Occidental as my WOTN.

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