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+--- Thread: Mostly Pinot Noir Tasting on Saturday (/thread-6600.html)
- wondersofwine - 09-13-2005
Carolina Wine Company had these wines open for tasting last Saturday--$10 fee waived since I placed an order.
1996 Kalin Cellars Potter Valley Sauvignon Blanc (Potter Valley AVA is apparently in Mendocino County)
Rich mouthfeel. Smoky element. Made in the Fume' style. Nice wine if you go for that style. Selling for $24.99 per bottle.
1994 Kalin Cellars Sonoma County Chardonnay
Pleasant Chardonnay--not too buttery or oaky.
2001 Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay.
More oak treatment than the previous. I liked it less although I am a fan of Ridge Zinfandel.
2000 Casa Carneros Pinot Noir Los Carneros
Some raspberry/plum flavors. I had previously ordered two bottles of this Pinot Noir and like it but perhaps not quite as much as the 1998 vintage. Winemaker is Melissa Moravec and the production is small (600 cases in 1998 using eight different clones). Funny, this time I recorded raspberry and plum flavors and with the 1998, cherry flavor with perhaps underlying blackberry.
1999 Opitz Carneros Pinot Noir. Greg Opitz uses grapes from Melissa Moravec (see above). At this tasting I prefered the 1999 Opitz P.N. to the 2000 Casa Carneros. This was very nice with a little lighter taste, yet the alcohol percentage was higher (over 14% for the Opitz and over 13% for the Casa Carneros Los Carneros. May have to order some of the Opitz if still available.
2002 Willow Brook Owl Ridge Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley)
I liked the 2001 vintage at some previous tastings and contributed some to a Thanksgiving dinner last year. However, on the last couple tastings with other Pinot Noirs, I have found this too acidic or on Saturday with the 2002 didn't care for the aftertaste. I tried the filtered version first and then the unfiltered one. Didn't see too much difference between the two and found the same unattractive aftertaste in both.
1994 Kalin Cellars Sonoma County Pinot Noir One customer thought the bottle wasn't very fresh (it had been opened less than a day) so a new bottle was opened and I got a pour from the fresh bottle. Unusual nose. Faint hint of raisin and prune in both the nose and palate. Sign of a mature wine or maderization? I wasn't as impressed with this as some were but have limited experience with older California Pinot Noirs. Have had good experience with the 1998 Casa Carneros and 1997 St. Innocent Shea Pinot Noir (Oregon)
- dananne - 09-13-2005
I noticed a similar raisin/prune element to the nose of a 1994 Dundee Springs PN that Anne and I tried while in Oregon at Wine, Etc. Tasting Room. Didn't find it unpleasant, just different. The wine did show a bit of bricking, and the fruit was fading into more subtlety.