Berry, it’s really bad when the guys at Crush, yesterday, asked if I wanted to break up the shipment into a couple of parcels.
I think some varieties show wood spices like cinnamon even when unoaked, which is confusing when blind tasting. This is often true of Sangiovese, for example (plus it often smells of wood, cedar for example, even when unoaked).
Also, one of the chemicals produced by yeasts from precursors found in grapes is ethyl cinnamate.
Is this like not putting all your executives on one plane?
As far as I’m concerned, the fewer beatings the better. Size of box doesn’t substantially impact size of welt.
My admittedly over-the-top TN on this wine from a few weeks ago (and correction: I did shake Gideon’s hand after the seminar):
Just picked up four bottles. Talked with Gideon on the phone. Seems like quite the nice person. I thought I’d called the wrong number when a woman answered and it sounded like I’d woken her up. Very responsive and I’m excited to give these a try.
Gideon makes great wines. I like his whole range, but his white (carte blanche) was one of my “epiphany” wines.
To say the least.
Anyone get Brett in this wine? It was there on and off on the nose, but not bad. It’s a very complex wine with the spicy aromas (the comments about wood are right on, but it’s a very attractive and exotic woodiness) and some very pure fruit. On the finish I got more Brett and it was a little troubling - I think some people refer to this as a metallic character.
I have never noticed any brett in any of his wines and Ive looked for it but these wines don’t have any so2 so if your bottles got very warm at any point there could have been a bloom. Mine have been pristine and pure.
I don’t think there was any problem with storage or shipping. They came in the last few weeks in a one-day shipment inside CA. Bottles look fine and were in my cellar until opening.
I don’t mean to overstate this - the wine was very good.
I have noticed mild reduction. Could this possibly be what you are encountering? (not to say you aren’t getting brett, that is always a possibility with low s02).
Wow- after all of the dialogue I just decided to pop one and what a colossal disappointment. This wine is a murky mess.
A note to Gideon- I regret buying this wine sir. If I can make a request, now that I am more informed of your wine-making practices, the next time that you decide to experiment with the beautiful bounty that your wonderful vineyard gives you, would you please give your customers a heads-up first so I can change my purchasing goals accordingly? I wasted $50.00 per bottle in the name of your “natural” fetish. What is so ironic to me is that your non-interventionalist wine-growing approach was taken to the absurd and yes naïve level- your very goal of allowing the vineyard to speak for itself was doomed before the wine had a chance because the microorganisms did more to change the character of the wine than anything your could have done yourself; by not “intervening with sulfur” to protect the wine, you have effectively showed us what happens when a wine grower takes this notion ridiculously too far. You have my money and I have 5 more bottles of your junk. (34 views)
Chris, I’m not taking any sides on this, but there was a pretty lengthy thread about brett issues with the 2009 Clos Saron pinot, which includes some responses by Gideon, which you would probably want to read.
I’m sorry you had such a bad experience. That’s a shame.
I own two bottles of this wine, but have decided to hold them for awhile to see if it’s in a better place in the future.
I have opened a range of Clos Saron Pinot going back more than ten years, as well as their other bottlings. All have been excellent. While it sounds like there may be some bottle variation, I highly recommend sampling both more of the Pinot as well as the other varietal bottlings.
I tasted the 09 from bottle on my first trip to Clos Saron, perhaps 5 years ago. I liked it enough to buy 2 bottles. They were carried home in a cooler.
I opened the first bottle and drank it over 2 days. Initially there is a funk that takes about 1 hour to dissipate. Then the fruit emerges along with vibrant acidity. This is a savory wine with a long finish that veers more mineral the longer the air exposure continues. Texturally excellent with a nicely complex nose, but none of the magic happens with pop and pour.
In a good place now with room to evolve. Old World in style. From a truly unique terrior in Yuba County.