Category Archives: Pinot Noir

2010 Louis Jadot Nuits-Saint-Georges

A fun village level Burgundy I picked up from Wegmans recently. UncleGrape mentioned tasting 2011 barrel samples of Jadot and that the 2010 was a much stronger vintage. The picture doesn’t accurately reflect the color, it’s much more translucent and a beautiful garnett, reddish purple color, but still darker than the average pinot noir. It’s not cheap…I found it for $40.00 at Wegmans and I’d consider that a good deal. Wegmans has a partnership with Jadot and often offer the best prices and good selection on Jadot wines.

colonelgrape: 94. Black fruit, earth, and licorice on the nose. The tannis were plentiful but blended in with the fruit and felt finer…like powdered sugar vs. raw sugar…giving it a firm but just right structure with a great finish. I think this bottle is definitely overachieving for it’s price range. We’ve had Burgundy for 2-3x this price and this bottle was just as good. I highly recommend this bottle especially if you get it under $50.

MobyGrape: 90. I didn’t really enjoy my first Burgundy and since then I immediately cringe when I hear we’re having another one. It’s like the time I had a stomach bug when I was little and thought eating a quesadilla would be a good idea. I promptly threw it up, and needless to say it took a few years before I was ready to tackle a quesadilla again. Granted the first Burgundy I tried wasn’t vomit-worthy, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth. I have to hand it to Louis, because my faith is being restored in Burgundy. I think I’m at the point where I’m ready to order a Burgundy quesadilla off the menu again! It had a little tartness to the end but it was a great match for chicken. Not too light, but not overpowering.

2007 Torii Mor Temperence Hill Pinot Noir

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I’ve been in the mood for Pinot Noir lately and usually that means Burgundy or Willamette Valley, Oregon. We’re headed to Oregon for this bottle of Torii Mor Temperence Hill Pinot Noir. Torii Mor’s winemaker is a Nuit Sant Georges Burgundy transplant so it’s no surprise his wines are balanced, delicate, and elegant. At $35 a bottle it’s a fairly expensive American Pinot Noir but it’s a treat worthy of splurging.

colonelgrape: 93. I’ve yet to be let down by a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. I thought this particular wine really emphasised the terrior of the area. There was a great balance of red raspberries, a hint of dark fruit, minerality, earth, and a unique ash flavor I’ve never tasted. I couldn’t put my finger on that flavor so I looked it up and apparantly that’s a hallmark flavor of the particular area where the vineyard is located in Willamette Valley. It was all held together nicely with just the right amount of acid. I think the ash flavor was just slightly more than I would have liked otherwise I’d be giving it a mid 90’s score. I think it’s worth trying just to experience that taste alone…it’s clear that thought went into making this wine.

MobyGrape: 89. Sometimes I have a problem with pinot noir. I’m not sure why, but it’s kind of like the kid in class that rubs you the wrong way because they try too hard. I don’t know what it’s trying to be, but I just want to tell it to calm down, you’d have more friends if you weren’t such a spaz. I really enjoyed this one, much more laid back than other ones we’ve had, works well with a lighter meal or alone. I think I’ll stick to west coast surfers for a while until the Colonel sneaks a French one in again.

Baron D’auvergne Brut Privelege

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Last night we had our first Champagne of 2013 and it was the Baron. We were out celebrating Moby’s birthday (21 again of course) and we decided to get sushi. UncleGrape has been raving about the pairing of sushi and champagne so we gave it a try and it didn’t disappoint. You can even see some sushi Moby snuck into the photo. I think the reason the pairing works so well is the lightness of both foods….no overpowering flavors just refreshing and light.

My last order from Wine Library was all whites and this bottle was one of them. What’s different about this bottle is the blend is 80% pinot noir and 20% chardonnay whereas most champagnes are chardonnay or the ratio is reversed. I have another bottle of champagne in the cellar that’s 100% chardonnay so we’ll have an interesting comparison…as was the Nicholas Feuillate we had on New Years Eve.

colonelgrape: 87. I’m still struggling to find my champagne palate but it’s coming along. I could definitely distinguish the quality in this wine vs. the Nicholas Feuilatte we had a few weeks ago. The bubbles were just right and the wine was just tighter. I like to have Brut with food and usually by the time I get 1/2 way through I’m over it but I made it almost all the way through this bottle before that happened. I could really taste the difference the pinot noir makes because it allows you to taste red berries in the background like strawberry and raspberry while the focus is on more golden fruit like pear, apple, and melon. I really enjoyed it with the sushi as they were both light and refreshing at the same time. We tried sea urchin for the first time and that even worked with the wine. All in all the Baron is a delicious bottle of champagne and I’m looking forward to trying more to compare it with. Expect sushi/champagne nights to keep popping up in the future and hopefully I’ll have more of a grasp on champagne.

MobyGrape: 84. I’m finding myself very torn writing these champagne reviews. It’s like looking at a famous work of art that you can appreciate as an incredible artistic creation….but you don’t really like. You’ll never admit that you don’t like it, because you’d then be known as the uncultured idiot who doesn’t like fine art, but deep down, as hard as you may try, it just doesn’t do anything for you. That’s how I feel about some of the champagnes we’ve had. I can appreciate them, and they make me feel fancy, but I don’t always want to hang them on my living room wall. For whatever reason, I still like my sweet bubblies for all occasions. Yes, they may be the color-by-numbers of the art world, but there’s no accounting for taste, is there. If you like dry champagne/sparkling wines, by all means have at it, I admire your style! If you’re like me though, make sure to pair those with food, they complement each other better that way. Personal preferences aside, I consider it my solemn duty to keep on popping corks until I can appreciate the Brut equivalent of the Mona Lisa.

2007 Marcel Deiss Gruenspiel

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This has to be one of the most interesting wines we’ve tasted so far here at Grapestorm. The producer calls this a “white red wine” and it’s an accurate description. This wine is 1/3 each of Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer, and Riesling…it is white though because they do not ferment the Pinot Noir skins with the juice. The result is a fuller-bodied wine with both red and white characteristics. It’s not cheap at $40 (on sale…usually $50) but this is definitely something you could bring to surprise or wow a friend.

Keeping with our spicy/sweet wine pairings we enjoyed this bottle with take out from Meung Thai downtown. If you’ve never been there you should check it out. We got 3 dishes and an appetizer for $30 and they were all good…and the crazy noodles were very spicy.

colonelgrape: 95. To me this wine had a serious honey and mineral nose, almost like a mead. In the glass it is much darker than a Gewurztraminer or Riesling from the Pinot Noir. On the palate it retained it’s mineral flavor but started off dry and spicy then easing into the honey sweetness at the end. This wine actually had some tannins too which I wasn’t expecting but they were very mild and fit right in with the flavor. The nice, sweet finish lingered after the sip and really this is a great wine. I’d love to bring this to a wine party and see if anyone could figure out what it actually is in a blind wine…my money is on no one figuring it out.

MobyGrape: 90. As much as I want to talk about Hans Gruber and start making Die Hard references, I’ll refrain (for now) and try to stick to the wine. This reminded me of a reverse Gewurztraminer. It’s a Renimartzruweg. Instead of the sweetness getting you up front, this one hits you with the spice first, then settles into a slick sweetness (note to self – I’m totally using that line if I ever quit my day job and start writing erotic novels). After being out for a while, the spices subsided and this was just thoroughly enjoyable, easily drinkable stuff. I highly recommend that on any old night of the week, you pour yourself a glass of this and say yippee-ki-yay…I mean Cheers.

2009 Louis Jadot Beaune 1er Cru Anniversary Edition

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Back to Burgundy for another Pinot Noir example. You’ll have to excuse the photo, I forgot to take a picture of the bottle before it made it’s way to the recycling center. This bottle is a special anniversary edition of Louis-Jadot’s Beaune premier cru wine celebrating 150 years of wine making. We enjoyed this wine with glazed chicken thighs roasted with green beans and rice. I think chicken thighs are an under-used cut of chicken…especially if you like dark meat. They are cheap, easy to work with, and delicious.

colonelgrape: 94. This wine was a clear garnet-red in the glass, very pretty looking. On the nose there was raspberry, strawberry, hints of acid (yes, you can smell acid). On the palate the smells were affirmed with flavors of tart, young red berries with hints of earth…and a healthy dose of acid. The finish was long and pleasant. This was a very tight pinot noir and one worthy of aging, in fact I’d love to buy a few more bottles and try them in 3-5 years. It really goes well with lighter fair like chicken and pork with vegetables.

MobyGrape: 89. Smelled like, wait for it…wait for it…red wine. Maybe a little bit like dirt. Tasted a little dry, a little acidic, I’d call it crisp. I distinctly remember another pinot noir tasting like grapefruit, and this one might have a similar tangy citrusy kick to it but it’s not overwhelming. Overall, this wine went well with a lighter meat meal (chicken, pork chops), or would do well on its own, but don’t expect a velvety hug from this one. If you’re coming home after a bad day at work this wine’s going to slap you and tell you to snap out of it, quit your bitching and get on with it. It won’t sympathize, but after you stop crying and realize it was right, it will certainly be delicious.