Tasting Event #2

Sadly, my write-up from our last tasting is way overdue.  My apologies.  Sincere thanks go to Bradley at Midtown & Spirits for helping us pick out a great selection of five pinot noirs. Our second tasting consisted of pinots from New Zealand, France (Burgundy region), the Willamette Valley in Oregon and another from Russian River Valley, California. The last was an inexpensive, mass market, pinot noir from California.

Here are the details on the five:

1. Mark West, California (mass market wine) - $10.99
2. Nobilo Icon, New Zealand - $14.99
3. Argyle, Willamette Valley, Oregon - $22.99
4. LWC, Loring Wine Company, Russian River Valley, California - $19.99
5. Marsannay, Louis Latour, the Burgundy region in France - $22.99

We paired the tastings with several cheeses, charcuterie and fresh ripe figs wrapped in prosciutto. While we did a blind tasting again, I was certain I knew which one I would like best. Imagine my surprise when what I thought would be my favorite turned out third on my list.  My first and second favorites were as much a surprise as was the group's consensus.  As happened last time, everyone liked all of them and would happily drink any of them (let's just say that no one in the group was sipping & spitting), but side-by-side (don't judge us too harshly) the Mark West, the least expensive, came in first.  Although it was neither a clear nor unanimous favorite (Nobilo & Argyle also got first-place votes), it was the definite winner as a value proposition. Our rank orderings diverged dramatically.  My second place was the New Zealand Pinot Noir.  What I had expected to by my favorite, the Argyle from Willamette Valley, came in as my third favorite. There was no consensus on the least favorite.

As for taste profiles, as reconstructed from sketchy notes and fading memory, the Mark West had a spiciness to it that stood out from the others and, perhaps surprisingly for a wine at that price point, clearly improved with time. The Marsannay had a bit of the earthiness that one associates with Burgundy, LWC had a floral nose and hints of strawberry, the Nobilo was black cherry, and the Argyle was silky smooth with hints of violet.

Next up...Turkey wines. What goes best with a Thanksgiving meal? Paired, of course, with a little turkey and other thanksgiving edibles.