Pinot Days Tasting Report

PINOT DAYS 2010

Here are my findings from Pinot Days yesterday, Sunday, January 17. This was a massive Pinot Noir tasting held at the Santa Monica Airport featuring around 75 producers of Pinot Noir, with something like 200+ Pinot Noirs to taste.

1. You cannot taste 200 Pinot Noirs in a day. 30 is about the max that you can taste before your palate feels as tired as a two dollar whore at a sex-addicts convention on coupon day. Going through the wineries alphabetically, I had 30 Pinots by the time I made it through the B's.

2. There are a lot of well made Pinot Noirs out there. Stylistically, they run the gamut. But I had less than a handful of flawed Pinots out of close to 100. If you are thinking about trying to start your own Pinot production, be aware that you will be facing a lot of competition.

3. 2007 in Oregon was just a bad vintage. It's time to write it off. I tasted '07s from Archery Summit, Evening Land, and Lachini - all top producers whose Pinots can sell for over $100 - and they all sucked, frankly. They had a dominant bouquet and flavor of smoke, which I'm guessing is the result of thin, flavorless wine being overwhelmed by the flavor of the barrels in which it was stored. Perhaps un-oaked or 100% neutral-oaked 07's would fare better, but they will still be thin with minimal flavor.

4. I have yet to taste a good Pinot Noir from South America. Bring it, SA!

5. California Pinot producers often make good Pinot Noir, but stylistically they tend towards juicy, vanilla-oaky, extracted, ripe flavors. If that's your thing, try Sequana, Merry Edwards, Belle Glos, Clouds Rest, Deloach, Flying Goat, McPhail, Melville, Testarossa, and Woodenhead. Those are all excellent wines in the ripe California style. For a more elegant, restrained style with earth and mineral in balance with fruit and oak flavors try Hirsch, Kendric, Keller, Baxter, Pillow Rd., Inman (organic), and Oregon '08. All fantastic.

6. My favorites: Benovia, Arcadian, Carr (had an AMAZING Pinot Gris too), plus Alana and Felton Rd. from New Zealand. These Pinots were balanced and elegant with rich complexity that unfolded in a restrained, lingering way. I like that.

7. My favorite people: Big Table Farm from Oregon, and Demetria Estate from Santa Barbara County. Good Pinots and good people. That's the way it should be.

I doubt I'll go to another 200+ Pinot tasting, but I definitely have no regrets.