Decided to stretch some atrophying wine muscles with two lower-alcohol wines from California this week. 2013 Ceritas Pinot Noir Hellenthal Vineyard Old Shop Block
I’m a big fan of Ceritas’ white wines for their chiseled restraint but I’ve always been a bit underwhelmed by the pinots for some reason. I think I was opening them too early – they came off as lean, a bit clipped and monolithic. But not this bottle, which had a giving floral and spicy nose. Loved the cranberry and rhubarb fruit here, which see-sawed between tart and savory notes. Some herbs and soil on the medium crunchy, finish. Packs some punch for its 12.5% ABV. Would be fun to slot this in a ringer in a lineup of Beaunes …
2012 Matthiasson Merlot Red Hen Vineyard
I can’t remember the last time I had a domestic Merlot. (Cue the Miles Raymond jokes here). Tasting this bottle brought back some memories of my newbie days – loved those soft tannins, plush finishes and black cherry-meets-licorice flavors. But it’s not oozy at all. Balanced acids and a bay leaf note keep things in check. This was a well-made wine, as to be expected from this reliable producer. It just didn’t excite me. It feels a bit like a higher-end wine I’d serve at a Super Bowl party, like a Ridge Lytton Springs or something. Easy to like. But 1.5 glasses is enough for me … 13.6%
Why is it insulting? I wouldn’t take it personally …
They both are very well-made wines that appeal to many people with very good taste (including you!), just not me at this point of my wine-tasting evolution. My dinner guests loved the Matthiasson, which probably triggered the association with serving wines at a Super Bowl party. And just to be clear, I’d be ecstatic if someone had the palate to serve me Ridge or Mathhiasson at their football-watching event.
I’ve not had that Matthiasson Merlot, but he’s becoming one of my favored wine makers. Recently I’ve had a handful of wines he’s been responsible for and I enjoyed all of them. He took over Acumen from Dennis Malbec - the vineyard is up on Atlas Peak and the wine reflects that mountain fruit. He is making a small lot for Peter Chiang, who owns the Drops of God Wine Salon. All of those wines are elegant and restrained. And he makes an extremely inexpensive and perfectly adequate white in a crown-cap liter bottle called Tendu, which is mostly Vermentino plus some Chardonnay and Columbard. That’s the kind of wine you serve in a bistro or at a Super Bowl event. And he’s growing Refosco, Ribolla Gialla, and even Schioppettino.
I haven’t had all of their wines, but of those I have tried, I haven’t disliked any. And I really like the aesthetic, at least insofar as I have understood it.
Leaned, clipped and monolithic covers my impression of their pinots as well on early drinking so I held onto none as opposed to the chardonnay which I’ve got a bunch in cellar. Looks like I need to source a bottle or two with some age and revisit