"Trout Valley" Nelson Pinot Noir 2008

I love this wine. We went through 3 cases of it this summer and still cannot get enough... Bouquet of spice, leather, oak and strawberry. The mouth is dominated by crisp, energetic red currant, followed by sweeter fruit and sugar cane finish. Wonderful bright red, medium body, I had it slightly chilled. I'm even willing to accept the screw cap;) Today served with a pile of fresh tempura, but frankly this Pinot goes with most foods.

12$ retail @ Uva Wines, 82 points

D. Bosler Birdsnest Pinot Noir 2009

A young Pinot Noir from Casablanca Valley in Chile, enjoyed at Black Mountain Wine House along with their house panini. The bottle was a nice surprise: spicy nose and a fairly complex taste, going far beyond your standard pinot red fruit. Floral notes, caramel, blackberry, medium body.
Great value, particularly at retail price.

32$ @ Black Mountain, 10$ retail, 73 points

Sylvain Pataille Burgundy, 2007

Seems like gnocchi is the official pasta of the summer 2010! This time prepared with baked prosciutto and fava beans, accompanied by a bottle of 2007 Sylvain Pataille Burgundy. I have nothing negative to say about this gentle, wild strawberry infused Pinot noir... Simple mature apple nose with a touch of eucalyptus.. Plum marmalade, strawberry, healthy amount of tannin to remind u this is no Gamay. The wine is at it's prime, no signs of yellowing, nicely developed glycerin.

23$ @ Union Square Wines, 83 points

Summer reds

Let me start by saying that I haven't posted for a long time but I am proud that this blog is a year old and the project has not been abandoned. I will also state for the record that I did not drink these four bottles by myself but rather with a group of friends while cooking and eating a meal. We ate potato gnocchi with shitake mushrooms, asparagus and fresh tomato.

Joseph Faireley Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2007

The Faireley family are in the business of buying plots of land in Burgundy that will produce optimal grapes. This wine comes from reserved plots located in the Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise. Its a light ruby color with red fruit aromas and very well rounded taste. Its a perfect summer wine that can accompany any meal. It retails for around 20 dollars in the US.

Alba Rossa Salice Salentino Rosso 2008

This wine comes from Salento in the Puglia region located in the boot of Italy. It has a big flavor of fruits and at the same time it retains a very earthy background. This wine is 80% Negroamaro and 20% Malvasia Nera. The cost is around 12 dollars in the US.

Trinchero Barbera D'Asti Superiore 2003

The grapes for the production of this wine come from 20-year-old vineyards. The grapes are fermented in cement vat and then held in old wooden barrels for 12 months before being bottled. The taste is very fresh and fruity, and at the same time slightly sour. The cost of this wine is about 20 dollars.

Nibio Terre Rosse Monferrato Dolcetto 2006

This wine had a taste of mango which was a very cool surprise. It is a full bodied tannic wine with a fine bouquet and a velvety finish. It should be noted that its a biodynamic wine with no sulfites added. The makers say it is very well suited for aging. This particular variety has been grown in this region for more than 1000 years and it is referred to in the annals of the Republic of Genoa. The cost around 13 dollars in US, an excellent value wine.

Wine & Food, Bologna 2010

Divinis is definitely my favorite enoteca style establishment in Bologna. Right in the historic center of the city, this gourmet restaurant offers the real experience of northern Italian and French wines, matched with amazing food prepared by Maurizio Landi. This is NOT a tourist trap, unlike some places I visited in Florence and Milan...

I started my lunch with a glass of white, sparkling pinot nero from Piemonte produced by Bruno Giacosa. This blanc des noirs is quite big, mineral, aromatic, with persistent flavors of molasses, almond and herbs. (89 points) I also had home made strigoli pasta with stinging nettle, frog fish and lime peel: simply great.

To finish off the meal I asked for an interesting red with a cheese pairing. The red was truly exceptional: 2009 Verduno Pelaverga by Burlotto (one of the big Barolo producers from Piemonte). (90 points) Verduno is an endemic, pretty rare grape from Piemonte: spicy, dry and drinks young. My bottle had a very unique over all presence of black pepper, it dominated both nose and mouth. The fruit was minimal but very satisfying, dark berry and apple, beautiful garnet red, light body with nice viscosity. The cheese pairing was fresh Chabot, which was creamy, tart and fizzy inside...

Philippe Le Hardi Santenay 1er Cru La Comme, 2005

This 1-er Cru Santenay was purchased in 2007 from the producer in Burgundy. It was really hard to keep my hands off it for 3 years, but finally the day has come! Pretty much everything about this wine was a surprise: full body, velvety brick red, after uncorking exploded with flavors of fresh red currant. That phantom bouquet disappeared after 10 minutes: the nose shifted toward Jeggermeister, green parsley, mint and lingering rubber notes. Equally volatile mouth settled on licorice and strawberry, with a bitter herbal finish. To match the wine I made duck breast in Pinot noir reduction sauce, with shimeji mushrooms and grilled squash. Everything worked out pretty amazing!

25 Euro from producer, 90 points

Gruet Pinot Noir 2006

I took a big leap of faith and ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir from New Mexico a couple of nights ago (Huckleberry Bar, Williamsburg). Produced by a French winemaker Gilbert Gruet, this bottle tastes like a Burgundy. A classic black cherry/cassis mouth, fresh and energetic, medium body and a funky sauerkraut bouquet. Although the bottle claims oak barrel, I didn't taste or smell much of it (which is a good thing). Great wine, wish it was a bit cheaper.

$46 in a bar, $26 retail
81 points

Bruno Clair Marsannay Rose, 2008

An honest, steel cask aged Burgundy rose Pinot Noir, picked up at a spring tasting event at Union Square Wines NYC. Flavors of strawberry and Champagne, dry, mineral, sharp with traces of watermelon and sour cherry. Served chilled, so the nose seemed pretty minimal, mostly red fruit... Great spring wine! We paired it with cherrystone clams and had a blast.
$25 in retail, 78 points

Pauline Vigneron Beaune 1er Cru, 2005

Picked up at a random liquor store in Chelsea, the price seemed a bit too good to be true... Turned out to be very good, but definitely not a typical cotes de Beaune... Leather, spice and pepper bouquet, musty and a bit gamey. The mouth was thick and chewy, schistey, chalky, mineral, lots of cocoa, cherry and a tiny bit of lemon in a strange, muddy finish. Medium body, healthy ruby red, yet with my eyes closed I would never guess it's a Pinot noir... I'd think a Languedoc rustic red of sorts. Yummy, but unusual... which probably explains the price tag of $25.

80 points

Henri Proudhon Chassagne-Montrachet Les Chambres, 2006

The spring is around a corner: break out these Pinot Noirs! This scrumptious bottle was found at Fanny's in Brooklyn, and accompanied a meal of seared scallops with broccoli sauce. Medium light body, red shifting toward brick, transparent and oily. Herbal nose, some notes of cinnamon and other spices. Mostly strawberry compote and molasses in the palette, seems like this wine was produced with plenty of sun. Not a knockout, but generally a very pleasant, gentle burgundy.

54$ in a restaurant, 78 points

Louis Latour, Santenay 2005

The driest, most austere, minimal Burgundy ever... Yet somehow you wanna keep drinking... A vegetal, spicy nose followed by some sharp, almost brutal, tartaric acidity and tannin driven mouth. Some vague attempts of red currant and apple, some lingering aftertaste of lime. Medium body and a dictionary burgundy color. I am guessing the bottle will be getting only better for the next 20 years. This wine makes you wanna put on your altar boy outfit. And the legitimate hardcoreness demands respect. 26$ in retail

73 points

Belle Vallée Pinot Noir - 2007 Willamette Valley, Oregon

Belle Vallée Pinot Noir - 2007 Willamette Valley, Oregon

Price U$ 25


Light ruby colour, oaky in flavour.
This is the perfect pinot to partner with a light meal, low in alcohol content with hints of black cherry and plum.
Good to open one and save another for a couple more years.

You can pick it up at Astor Wines in NY:

Luigi Bosca Pinot Noir Reserva, Lujan de Cuyo 2007

Aged cheese, cherry and prune bouquet; big smokey mouth (that sounded wrong!), dark fruit, tobacco, full body, some oak. Can't believe this is a 2 year old pinot noir! I would have it with some red meat next time around.
A bit short now, but I can imagine this will change in a year or two.
Over all totally worth the 50 AR$ (retail), but not as good as the 2006 vintage Sam wrote about here.

Saurus Patagonia Select, Pinot Noir 2006

Have you ever tried oysters with red wine? Commonly known to be one of the worst pairings... except when you are having raw patagonian oysters with patagonian pinot noir!
This lovely pinot, served at Crizia, was supposed to complement a large tuna steak, but it ended up working great with the oyster appetizer. I am very impressed with patagonian pinots, much more than anything Mendoza (so far).

Yeast and green apple aroma; light oak, grapefruit and pomegranate mouth. Somehow this wine
reminded me of chardonney... or champagne? Definitely lighter body, very mineral and energetic. Although oaked, tastes more like Burgundy than California. Delicious!(110 AR$ in restaurant).

Patrice Rion, Gevrey-Chambertin Vielles Vignes 2003

This powerful Côte de Nuits drank like a Brunello! 2003 was definitely a hot vintage, and it's ready now. Medium to full body, brownish red with medium transparency, velvety smooth texture. Caramel, strawberry jam and subtle spicy notes (eucalyptus?) in the bouquet. Taste wise this wine was an explosion of fruit: mainly plum/prune, fig and cherry compote, with a nice finish of cocoa and coffee (which I attribute to perfectly aged tannin).

This is a Burgundy for a hedonist: less terroir, more pure joy. I had it with home made cheese Spätzle, chicken cutlet and Swiss chard... no complaints:)

$40 at Warehouse Wine&Spirits, NYC.

Louis Latour, Côte de Beaune-Village 2002

2002 wasn't a stellar year for red Beaune (91 points) but this gentle pinot noir is a good candidate for a daily dinner wine. Still purplish red, transparent with no signs of aging, medium body with healthy viscosity. I imagine there was a decent dose of tannin in this wine once, pretty much gone by now.

Soft, mellow and nebulous all around: this is a typical, solid but no thrills Côte de Beaune. Sweet red fruit in the nose, very slow to open. In the mouth: an attack of blackberry, cherry and mature apple mid-palette and a barely detectable pungent-spicy finish. I actually tasted durian fruit in the finish...

Rosemary turkey scallopini, quinoa and green beans seemed like a pretty good pairing.

Humberto Canale- Pinot Noir 2006 Patagonia-Argentina

Humberto Canale- Pinot Noir 2006 Patagonia-Argentina

Price U$ 25

Perhaps the best pinot noir out of Argentina this medium size ruby colour pinot noir is the closest one can find in this side of the world that comes close to the Oregon and California counterparts.

Patagonia has become one of the great new regions in Argentina as its climate and land is prime for wine making.

There are hints of raspberry, cherry and rhubarb as well as vainilla.

Its light on the palate and keeps the alcohol content considerably low so as to enjoy this good wine.

Week in Burgundy, July 2007

In July 2007 a group of four entry-level wine enthusiasts (including my girlfriend Sakurako, Gosia, Sam and myself) undertook a little trip to Burgundy, France. We assembled in Zurich, where I happened to be for a conference, and drove a rental car all the way to Cote d'Or.

I just recently stumbled upon some photos from that trip and decided that it would be nice to post some on Dailyglass. After all this was the trip which turned me into a somewhat serious wine drinker, and made pinot noir my favorite grape variety. So in a way this blog wouldn't have happen without our week in Burgundy...


At the time spending more than $30 on a bottle of wine seemed outrageous, so this prevented us from drinking grand crus and older vintages... Nevertheless, we managed to hunt down several exceptional bottles and participate in 3-4 tastings every day.


To save money we camped out most nights, which made the whole thing affordable.The bulk of our limited resources went toward various culinary indulgences, which mostly consisted of beef, snails, roosters and foie gras. And cheese, of course ... including the local, super-smelly, half-liquid Époisses. Vegetal matter is not much appreciated in Burgundy region:)




One of the highlights was a half-day tasting class at Sensation Vin in Beaune. We decided to go with reds only, and tasted 10 wines which were samples of various local terroirs. That was a pretty well organized Burgundy crash course, including slides and handy vintage charts.


If I was to mention one bottle that particularly stuck in my memory, it would be the modest, 7 Euro Bourgogne Passetoutgrains 2004 from organic producers Pierre d'Heilly et Martine Huberdeau (picture below on the right). Passetoutgrains is a regional appellation, basically a cuvée of Gamay and Pinot Noir, where Pinot has to be at least 33%. We got the bottle at a remote abbey Pierre Qui Vire, along with some locally produced moldy goat cheeses. I still remember the deeply satisfying peppery black currant taste with grapefruit finish... this wine was so full of energy and life!

For anyone who is into wine: this doesn't have to be an expensive adventure! We loved it and , no doubt, will be back.

Hubert Lignier, Bourgogne, 1998

I took a little risk with this $35 Burgundy: a bit too old for a regional appellation from a mediocre vintage... But I knew that Ligner is known for some serious pinots, which are often biodynamic and crushed by pigéage (actually climbing into the tanks and pushing down the cap with your feet). Apparently only natural yeasts are used.

This must have been the driest, most schizophrenic French pinot noir I have ever had. I am suspecting some Négrette was added along the way... Over the two hours of drinking I briefly went through every item on the taste wheel, as if the wine was undergoing a rapid chain reaction.

If I was to describe some of the more stable elements of the nose I would say red fruit compote and fresh cheese, maybe yogurt. But there were also micro-bursts of truffle, jasmine, white pepper and wild strawberries. It was medium-bodied, very viscous, particulate and purplish-red with no signs of oxidation.

The mouth was more consistent (and mighty dry) with cranberry, mature yellow apple and bitter spice. The amount of tannin in this wine made me think of nebbiolo or tannat... I guess that was what kept it from yellowing. It was an adventure for sure ... if I had another bottle I would let it open for two hours... It coupled pretty well with ham wrapped prawns and boiled leeks.

Tartness in the finish would be my only real complaint.

Benton Lane- Pinot Noir 2007- Willamette Valley Oregon

Benton Lane Pinot Noir 2007- Willamette Valley Oregon

Price USD 25

http://www.wine.com/V6/Benton-Lane-Pinot-Noir-2007/wine/97512/detail.aspx?s=GoogleBase&cid=GoogleBase

It can sometimes be hard to get a quality bargain pinot noir, this Benton Lane is a great example of a great rich pinot noir without the hefty price tag.

The wine has a very clear ruby colour and shows hints of strawberry and chocolate. It also is light on the alcohol content and is crisp on the palate and very smooth on the finish, everything one wants out of a good pinot noir.