As a veteran of ZAP for many years, I felt more than prepared to participate in this years Pinot Days tasting at Fort Mason in San Francisco. Luckily, the event lacked the circus-like feel and the mind-numbing alcohol levels that Zinfandel generally provides the throngs, converting them into a frenzied, purple-mawed outcast team of Day-of-the-Dead extras from central casting.
We arrived two-hours ahead of the doors opening and got a fabulous parking space right near the door. The volunteer staff were very nice and as we lined up in front of the Festival Pavillion we found comraderie with staff and participants alike. A friendly calm before the ensuing storm of swirling, sniffing, swishing and spitting - punctuated by a little pushing and shoving. Next year they are going to have to utilize the second pavillion - 4000 people all clammoring for the same top-rated wine can lead to a few smashed toes and some modest dry cleaning bills - nevertheless the doors flung open and we were whisked inside to grab our glasses and spit cups and we were off and running. Well . . . strolling.
We decided to cherry-pick the room for outstanding wines from outstanding producers, so our first stop was at
Cima Collina where we were treated to excellent expressions of Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands within the venerable Central Coast appellation. Their
Tondre Grapefield 2007 Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands showed spicy aromatic cherry, sweet oak and roses on our noses (ha!) with tart, yet balanced cherry and raspberry flavors. My favorite was the
Hilltop Ranch 2006 Pinot Noir Estate Santa Lucia Highlands - a powerful, rich and dark wine with intense blueberry, plum, leather, earth with smoke and a cadre of spices. It certainly needed some time to breathe in the glass, but the wait was well worth it.
http://www.cimacollina.com/The next stand-out was from
Waits-Mast. Brian Mast and Jennifer Waits have put their passion for Pinot into a remarkable project being produced at Crushpad in San Francisco. The poetically prolific duo source fruit from some fantastic spots along the Central and North Coast of California. First we tasted their
Hein Vineyard 2006 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley which showed those classic strawberry aromas and cherry fruit complexities on the palate with a nice dose of the balanced earth, spice and leather we all know and love from the Anderson Valley. Beautiful, ripe and delicious. Next we tasted the
La Encantada 2007 Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills. Owned and farmed as Certified Organic (CCOF) by Richard Sanford (Remember Sanford Pinot Noir? Remember the guy who founded the Santa Rita Hills AVA??!) the delicious fruit from La Encantada is highly regarded and saught after by wineries like Roessler, Alma Rosa, and Robelon. This wine is a bit more dark and brooding. It shows more smoke and spice on the nose, some good tannins and a deep ruby color, leaning towards crimson. The palate unfolds with lush sweet cherry and blackberries, spice, floral notes and a hint of cola. This one definately had my attention.
http://waitsmast.com/tierra/Bill Hunter's
Chasseur wines had definately made a splash in the past with above-90 ratings from Robert Parker and the Wine Spectator. So why should this day be different from any other day? Of the four Pinot Noirs Bill was pouring on Sunday, the one that really stopped my in my tracks was the
Umino 2007 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley. The nose brought forth bright, perfectly focused red cherry fruit with hints of dried flowers and slightly toffeed or creamy, toasty elements resulting from perfectly toasted oak integration. Showing as a full-bodied, perfectly balanced wine, on word springs forth: refined. Its dense, deep and exuberant flavors blend in subtle notes of dark, hidden treasures which will reveal their sophisticated complexities with a few years of cellar time. Can you tell that I liked this one? We also tasted the 2006
Umino which showed what just one year can reveal.
http://www.chasseurwines.com/The Best is always saved for last, although I decided to distill my tasting notes down from 25 wines I enjoyed to this scant 4 listings, however this is what the reader really wants: Give me your top four, man!
Benovia Winery has really captured my attention with their
Savoy Vineyard 2007 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley. This vineyard typically reveals a harmonic balance between rich, oppulent, ripe fruit and earthy mushroom/umami characteristics. Benovia has crafted a deeply colored masterpiece with briary blackberry laced with a mineral and toasted coriander seed aromatic nose. A hint of dried orange rind gives way to a lush palate full of crushed black cherries and deep, dark, ripe plums. I can't wait to see what this thing can do over a moderate period of cellar time. Winemaker Mike Sullivan is a master in his own right, and Robert Parker enjoys his wines as well, reflecting: “I’m a big fan of winemaker Mike Sullivan as he seems to have the brilliant ability to convert Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel into wines of considerable character and individuality.”
So, that about wraps up the concentrated nitty-gritty on the 2009 Pinot Days tasting. Keep your glasses buffed, your corkscrews handy and your browser tuned.
http://www.benoviawinery.com/
