2006 Walnut Block Pinot Noir Nutcracker

• By Stephen Tanzer
  September/October 2007, IWC Issue #134, (See more on Vinous...)

  (Walnut Block Pinot Noir Marlborough) Login and sign up and see review text.

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  9/26/2009, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (WALNUT BLOCK Pinot Noir) UPDATE: 2009 - The Importance of Being Earnest While it is still far too early to make broad-based generalizations regarding 2009, I will cautiously do so anyway. The 2009 vintage in France continues to take shape and, after talking with prominent winemakers in the Cote d'Beaune, Cote d'Nuits and Bordeaux the style and potential of the vintage has become clearer. 2009 is a powerful, low-acid vintage with a streak of 2003, a dose of 2005 and something like 1990 or even 1982 in the mix. It is more 1947 than 1961 - different strokes that have proven to be equally collectable. From a drinking standpoint, classicists may prove to enjoy 2005 more than 2009 (due to 2005's tannic sense of power) but you cannot discount the unique nature of 2009: massively ripe, low-acid material that should retain a sultry sense of dignity and never get to 2003 levels. One winemaker called 2009 the Oscar Wilde vintage where 2005 was more Byron meets Carl Sandburg. Alcohols are high, higher than 2005 (in a 1947 or 1959-like way) but not as high as 2003. As I penned last week, classicists should be stocking up on 2008 in Bordeaux and 2007 in Burgundy - transparent vintages with plenty of intrigue. Those that like riper more exotic fruit (but found 2003 too much) should be enthralled with the lower acid, lower tannin frame of the 2009's. The fruit is, in many cases, as close to perfect as some remember but "perfect" is in the eye of the beholder. There are already Pomerol producers making outlandish claims with phrases such as "a rebirth of 1947" - we'll see, but the John Kapon's of the world are certainly licking their chops. So, Vintage of the Century? Probably not, but many will make the case that this is the most flamboyant vintage since 1982 and everyone knows how that turned out from an investment and drinking perspective... Stay tuned. - Jon Rimmerman *********************** Shipping The fall shipping season is slated to begin in mid-late October and last through Thanksgiving and/or early December (if the weather cooperates). We will keep you updated over the next few weeks but expect parcels to arrive on the East Coast the week of October 26th. Midwest, West Coast, Northwest, Mountain, Southwest and Southeast will follow thereafter. Please remember, you may receive as many as 3-4 different shipments during the season. What you receive on your first shipment has little or no baring on what you may ultimately receive by the end of the season. The jigsaw puzzle of packing is formed by actual arrival dates of the wine, not by offer date - therefore, you may receive something you ordered only a week ago but not something from six months ago that is still in-bound. WE WANT YOU TO GET YOUR WINE - we work as hard as we can and as long as we can to pack and ship your wine as soon as it arrives. If you are frustrated over long pre-arrival times, remember this rule: winemakers have a mind of their own - schedules set with us are rarely followed - they have better things to do such as chop wood for the upcoming winter or corral a herd of wild boars instead of putting BATF stickers on the bottles. In other words, there is no ill-will on their part and you will eventually get your wine, they just live a different life than you or I which dictates different priorities - precisely why they were so alluring to begin with. In the end, we nudge and cajole and eventually the wine shows up - we just have to be patient. The good news is that this year, schedules have worked out quite well. The vast majority of wine/food from the winter/spring/summer has already arrived or is in-bound and will arrive with plenty of time to ship - it should be a banner shipping season with very few carry-overs. In addition, there should be no surprise when a box (or boxes) arrive at your doorstep - UPS will send you an email alert several days prior to arrival so you can plan accordingly. Watch this column for upcoming departure dates in October and November. The wait is almost over! ************************* Weekend Dear Friends, A few wines of interest, both have had a large number of re-order requests so here you go... 2006 Walnut Block Pinot Noir (Marlborough) LIMITED 6/person The Walnut Block is a wine many of you have enjoyed but found it too expensive at $30 or more. I was just offered this parcel at a laughable price and it's too good of a deal to pass up. Produced to compete at a very high level (with the best of Marlborough and Otago) the Walnut Block is a great everyday alternative to more expensive Oregon and New Zealand wines. 2006 Fontodi Flaccianello (Panzano) LIMITED 24/person We're already offered this wine in formats up to 18.0lt but we continue to receive 750ml requests almost every day - I've finally found a parcel and it's winery direct. Basically, the winery is sold out of the 2006 - they are not holding back stock like the Bordelaise to artificially inflate demand and price. What's out in the world is what there is - there's no additional wine to off-set depletions. For the lowest prices, try some of the grey market sources such as Premier Cru (at last check they has this for $59-69) or even Woodland Hills on 2nd tranche at $90-95. If they are sold out, there are a myriad of sources in Europe with a few bottles available in the $50's and many of them will direct ship to you from the UK or Germany. With that, this is the last of the winery-direct stock available - it's not cheap but it has the finest provenance you can find. To put this in perspective, US wholesale on this wine is now over $100 and I expect auction values to follow suit. 99pt wines are few and far between and they usually continue to escalate in price as stock dwindles. This parcel is directly from Fontodi: Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA NZ7460 Italy9234

• By Jon Rimmerman
  6/15/2007, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (Walnut Block Pinot Noir) Walnut Block Pinot Noir - IMPORTANT Dear Friends, Introducing Walnut Block Pinot Noir. I’m not going to come out and state this wine is the Marcassin of New Zealand as it’s quite annoying when retailers make constant comparisons to the “Screaming Eagle” of this and “Marcassin” of that (yours truly is certainly guilty of that) but...if any wine in the Southern Hemisphere has a chance to be the next Marcassin, this is it. Maybe the Bindi of New Zealand is more appropriate but whatever it is, you will want to take very close notes. Along with Bilancia, this is our biggest and most important discovery from New Zealand in years. We debuted Walnut Block’s Sauvignon Blanc a few weeks ago and this new Marlborough upstart is making waves reserved for all but the very top tier. The 2005 version of this wine is the Pinot Noir that won the Jancis Robinson tasting with by far the most first place votes - literally leaving many of the tasters speechless. I think they were unduly shocked that a wine of this nobility could come from anywhere other than Burgundy (or maybe Oregon). While this tasting did not have quite the world-wide ripple effect as the California vs. France tasting in the early 1970’s, the point was well made. New Zealand has arrived and this winery may be their very best shot at the big time. As mentioned in the Sauvignon Blanc offer, Walnut Block is the home estate of Dog Point viticulturist Nigel Sowman. The small vineyard is planted on an ancient dry riverbed that is so rich in minerality it could be considered an ore deposit by the government. With a mix of stones, clay and sand in the vineyard the roots have a chance to bend their way to the deep mineral deposits while quenching themselves on the scarce water that is retained in the layers of clay. The soil, combined with the earth’s most intense solar radiation by day (thanks to a depleted ozone) and cool, even cold, temperatures at night result in unique fruit and resulting wine that reflects this nearly ideal condition for growing cool-climate varietals. From another great vintage, the 2006 Pinot Noir was treated like a Grand Cru Burgundy - completely hand-picked and de-stemmed with as little disturbance to the grapes as possible. Only native and wild yeast is used so if the batch doesn’t ferment naturally, there is no vintage - a major risk but they feel is critical to the character of the wine. Fermentation is done in stainless at cool temperatures to retain delicacy. The juice is then transferred to oak for one year of ageing (like most of the top Grand Cru Burgundies) and bottled by hand prior to release. People keep asking me to compare the wine to something and I hesitate to do so as it should stand on its own. If pressed I would say it is more Roumier in style than the Syrah school of Dugat-Py or Roty but the above mentioned comparison to Bindi is not out of the question either. This is a wine that speaks to its varietal and terroir first and extraction a distant second (it is only 12-12.5% alcohol). Like a top Burgundy, it is esoteric and quite structured but velvety, sensual and brimming with spice-laden red and black fruits that have elegance, breed and a sneaky masculine side that top Pinot Noir pulls off like no other varietal. For the tarrif, this represents one of the very best buys in high-end Pinot Noir and while there is no national importer, you save 30% right off the bat (we’ll see how long that lasts). This is a winery that will be discovered by the American media and when it does, I fully expect a string of adjectives that will make my hyperbole appear tame. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED EXTREMELY LIMITED - only 100 6-packs for the entire US: 2006 Walnut Block Pinot Noir “Estate” Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA NZ6600