Lots of Pinot Noir

2008 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Nielson Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley (4/21/2018)
Clear light red. Beginning to develop some nice Burgundy style funk. Beautiful spicy cherry fruit and some nice earthiness, quite intense nose. Delicious balanced red fruit and spice flavours with a hint of brown sugar. Perfectly dry and balanced.

What a great wine. (95 pts.)

2005 Maison Champy Mazis-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru (4/21/2018)
Clear medium light red. Very funky, mushroom, tilled soil, red cherry and spice. Delicious dry earthy cherry flavours and a very balanced dry finish.

I love Champy. (93 pts.)

2014 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir - New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough (4/21/2018)
Medium light red. Very exotic nose, cherry, berry, campfire, and pepper nose. Great texture, cherry, earth and smoke with a hint of ripeness on entry. Long dry finish.

Beautiful wine. (93 pts.)

2001 Domaine Daniel Rion et Fils Chambolle-Musigny Beaux Bruns - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny (4/21/2018)
Medium light red. Very spicy, peppery, funky red fruit nose. Quite intense. Delicious cherry and pepper flavours and a nice dry finish.

A second very good 2001 on this night. (92 pts.)

2007 Tamar Ridge Pinot Noir Kayena Vineyard - Australia, Tasmania (4/21/2018)
Bright medium light red. Intense nose, cherry, beef, iodine, spice and earthiness. Textured red cherry fruit flavours and a long dry finish.

Exotic and delicious. (92 pts.)

2001 Louis Jadot Corton-Pougets Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru (4/21/2018)
Clear light red with brown edges. Nice light elegant nose of cherry, spice and perfume. No funk detected. Lovely dry cherry flavours and a slightly tannic dry finish.

Decanted for an hour or so. (91 pts.)

1994 Cálem Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (4/21/2018)
Dark red. Very ripe roasted nose, prunes, roasted plums, vanilla, spice and a hint of scorched earth. Sweet ripe roasted flavours and a sweet tannic finish.

Very dark and ripe style. Probably will stay the same for decades. (90 pts.)

2007 Foxtrot Pinot Noir - Canada, British Columbia, Okanagan Valley (4/21/2018)
Clear light red. Nice nose of cherry brown sugar and nutmeg. Very pure Pinot Noir flavours. Not at all earthy, more fruit driven. Nice balanced finish.

A very good wine, in perfect balance. (90 pts.)

2003 M. Doudet-Naudin Pommard - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard (4/21/2018)
Dark red. Meaty,smoky, black cherry fruit, very ripe for Pommard. Deep warm flavours but a bit hollow in the finish. Tannic thought. (89 pts.)

2005 M. Doudet-Naudin Pommard Les Vignots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard (4/21/2018)
Light red. Funky, oaky, nutty berry fruit nose. Red cherry flavours and a nice balanced finish. (89 pts.)

2016 Weingut Thörle Spätburgunder trocken - Germany, Rheinhessen (4/21/2018)
Clear light red. Nice medium intense nose, strawberry, red cherry and spice. Very fruit forward. Tasty red cherry flavours and a nice balanced red fruit finish.

Great QPR. (89 pts.)

2010 Hugel Pinot Noir Grossi Laüe - France, Alsace (4/21/2018)
Clear light red with pink edges. Light nose of cherry spice, vanilla, smoked meat and vanilla. Dry light cherry flavours and a whole lot of structure and tons of acid.

Poor QPR. (88 pts.)

2016 Anthony Buchanan Wines Pinot Blanc - Canada, British Columbia, Okanagan Valley (4/21/2018)
Decent elegant and floral. (88 pts.)

2003 Kettle Valley Pinot Noir Hayman - Canada, British Columbia, Okanagan Valley (4/21/2018)
Very dark. Roasted ripe black cherry nose. Ripe black cherry flavours and a remarkably long dry finish.

Hard to believe you could get Pinot Noir this ripe in Naramata. (87 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

thanks for the notes. Good to hear about the Ata Rangi, I’ve wanted to try the pinot from there since I’ve heard good things. Fascinating to see those BC wines, wonder how they compare to other Canadian pinots from the east like Norman Hardie?

Let’s just be frank…ABC kicks ass!!

Nice, succinct notes- thanks. Bought a case and have only had a couple of the 08` ABC Nielson the last one about a year ago and it seemed to be still very young, full of unrealised potential. Your notes suggest more evolution so perhaps I re-visit soon.

Happy to see Rion from 91 showing well. I visited them in 94, liked son Patrice a lot, but his wines were really challenging for me with overwhelming tannins and suppressed fruit profiles. Occasionally, I venture back to check in and have been relatively pleased with every wine of late.

Never had a Pinot Noir from Okanagan Valley. Stayed with the whites and enjoyed many. Naramata is located in Canada’s only semi-desert region. The topography is reminiscent of a blend of Southern California and Southern Italy. Surprised they are that drinkable and am wondering what kind of a general profile they display?

Great to see these notes, Dave. Brings back some memories as I haven’t had a Tamar Ridge, Ata Rangi or Champy wine in ages. Blake, I haven’t gravitated to Pinot from BC in a while, but have been very happy with some Syrahs and other red “exotica” like e.g. Moon Curser’s Tannat. All sorts of interesting things going on there.

Salud,

Mike

Thanks Mike. Nice to hear from you.

Blake. Yes Naramata is semi desert but not as hot as the Black Sage area to the south. There are many different styles of Pinot Noir from BC. They are hard to pin down. The Foxtrot is consistently the most elegant and the Kettle Valley the most inconsistent in terms of ripeness. From the Naramata area there are some nice Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Francs.

South in the Black Sage area Syrah is the grape. Of course this is my not so learned opinion. Actually my favorite Syrah, Nichol comes from Naramata.

fred o. So far my favorite Canadian Pinot Noir has come from Ontario. It was from Clos Jordanne. Never had a Hardie.

R Gaston. ABC does kick ass.

Blake. Yes Naramata is semi desert but not as hot as the Black Sage area to the south. There are many different styles of Pinot Noir from BC. They are hard to pin down. The Foxtrot is consistently the most elegant and the Kettle Valley the most inconsistent in terms of ripeness. From the Naramata area there are some nice Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Francs.
.[/quote]

I`ll be on the hunt for Foxtrot- thanks David

This!

I never seem to be able to keep mine around long enough to have tried any that are a decade old… i need to hide some from myself.

I cleaned ABC out of the '08 Nielson last year. Indeed a tremendous wine, and Blake, I think you might want to dig out the rest of your case!

I guess Byron now own that vineyard. [cry.gif]

Lots of Pinot Noir

My condolences!
[cheers.gif]

Peter, are you saying The 08 Nielson is ready and peaking now? If so, Im on it.

Blake, we visited the ABC tasting room about a year ago and asked our server which of their older wines she recommended. She said she’d recently had a birthday and Jim Clendenen had suggested she take a bottle of the '08 Nielson. She did, and it was now her favorite ABC wine!

Well, we did buy a bottle, it was drinking really well, and I bought their last four bottles a week later.

Jim is a wizard, his wines are some of the best…nothing surprising here!

Ive been fortunate to have in my cellar and share with Jim from his personal stash numerous wines hes made over all of the years and can easily conclude, he made wines for the long haul. Recently, I had Chardonnays and Pinots from the late 80s and early 90s that were really good and quite viable. Ive also had some of his Italian varietals and wines from the Vita Nova label with 25+ years on them and they too were solid and a treat to drink. HIs first Isabelle, 1994, is the best its ever been and there`s room for more.

So, Im thinking the 08 Nielson has got to have another 10-15 or more years before peaking and since I have most of a case remaining, Ill open one soon and see where it is and go from there. My best guess is that Ill be saving quite a few for the long run and be thankful I`m still around to enjoy them.

The age ability of ABC wines are almost unparalleled for Central Cal…Ojai and Arcadian might have something to say. My dinner with Blake, Jim and friends years back opened my eyes to Jim and his status as a winemaker Icon for this area if not all of California.