Pinot Noir continues to dominate my cellar, along with Champagne. Decided yesterday to take some bottles to a party and open a few things I was curious to try again. I continue to appreciate the Rhys Bearwallow, as it gives off a distinct terroir that I have found in the more recent vintages. I also like the Kutch Bohan, as it seems to produce a solid Pinot Noir without the higher alcohols. Jamie gets a cool interpretation of the fruit each vintage, with this vintage getting a cool blueberry tone to come through. Thanks for reading.
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2012 Rhys Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (7/4/2019)
Just 5 TNs this year, yet there remains 2000 bottles in the CT community inventory. So, that’s about .025% of the total amount being logged as notes for this year to date. I find this fascinating, especially with Rhys, that even nearly 7 years out, there aren’t more CT users opening these up. I’m going to help then, as I last tried this in 2016 as part of an Anderson Valley event we did here at my place. Opened today’s bottle about 30 mins ago, poured a few ounces to a burg stem to write an opener for this TN, with the rest of the wine being enjoyed later today, when I will capture a few more impressions. The aromatics on this are cool, very similar to 2016’s bottle: pepper, game, some herbals, probably sounding a lot like syrah. I find that the Bear wines made by Rhys show these qualities, the Bear terroir as I see it. The palate at this moment is smooth, glassy. Juicy dark cherry, dark apple and the same soily note in the bottle I found a few years back. A bit of spicy cinnamon also gets into the wine’s core, too. 12.5% ABV, which is just a bonus, also. Finishes with a tangy, spicy, soily tone, the dark cherry holding it all together. In a lovely drinking place now, and I will add some closing remarks tomorrow… -
2016 Kutch Pinot Noir Bohan Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/4/2019)
3rd bottle to date, and the first one of those that I have sampled with some time to think about the wine more closely. I forgot too how low the listed ABV is on this wine–11.3%. That kind of alcohol should be kind to my body, which is less and less tolerant of alcohol these days. But, will the wine show a difference in tone/experience because of it? The aromatics give me an impression for a mix of rose and perfume, with a light whiff of whole cluster. The palate on this has some interesting nuances, showing a creamy kind of note, mixed with a strawberry and raspberry, both that have a fresh, pure quality to them. The weight here is solidly medium, with nothing heavy anywhere to be found, and for sure no dark berry notes. Finishes with some light to moderate acidity…retasting from the bottle leftovers from yesterday, this picked up some blue fruit, along with some light structure that brings some cedary tannin with it. In total, this drinks with a juicy, plump texture, with some decent structure to give it some coil. I’ll finish my other bottle in the next 24 months, as I do think this vintage of Bohan is built better to enjoy now.
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