WINE OF THE WEEKEND: 2007 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red.

TECHNICAL NOTES:

• Harvested: September 6 to October 15, 2007

• Vineyards: Pahlmeyer Waters Ranch, Stagecoach & Rancho Chimiles

• Bottled: April 21, 2009

• Composition: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, 1% Malbec

• Alcohol: 15.2%

• Winemaker: Erin Green
  

Winemaking Notes

The grape clusters were hand-sorted, and once de-stemmed, the berries were sorted again by hand on the way to tank. After four to five days of pre-fermentation cold maceration in small open-top fermentors, the fruit began 100% native wild yeast fermentation. Two to three weeks later, the fruit was gently pressed and moved to barrel where it finished primary and secondary fermentations. The wine continued to age in 79% new French oak – a combination of Taransaud and St. Martin barrels – for eighteen months. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #186, December 2009

"Sensational... There is no doubting its extraordinary bouquet of subtle smoked meats, oak, mountain wild flowers, blueberries, blackberries, coffee, and cassis. Super-rich and full-bodied with noticeable, but stunningly sweet tannins, it possesses a rare minerality and definition, characteristics that seem to be found across the board in Napa’s 2007s. This dense, powerful red needs 3-5 years of cellaring, and should have 25 years of life ahead of it." 96+ points

Wine Spectator, September 30, 2010

"A rich, explosive style, packed with layers of currant, blackberry, wild berry and black cherry fruit woven together in a tight way. Full-bodied, turning supple and polished on the finish, where the fine-grained tannins are ripe and let the fruit flavors flow freely." –JL 95 points

Item #70074

SYRAH IN MY PINOT? A WINEMAKER RESPONDS

Dianna and Adam Lee of Siduri and Novy Family

Reprinted from Palate Press

February 20, 2011 by Adam Lee

“It is not an easy task to unring a bell, nor to remove from the mind an impression once firmly imprinted there….” – Chief Justice Thomas McBridge, Oregon Supreme Court, 1912

I recently took issue with Remy Charest’s twitter quip that, “A fair amount of 14% alcohol California Pinot is part Syrah.” (Ed. Note- this part of a conversation about Rex Pickett’s comments, found in Straight Discussion with Rex Pickett.) This led to some civil back-and-forth between Remy and me, and ultimately his very kind invitation to write something about the topic here for Palate Press.

The notion of blending Syrah (or other Rhone varietals) into Pinot Noir is not a new idea, nor did it originate in California. Karen McNeil, in her book “The Wine Bible,” asserts that “Before World War 1 much of the Chateauneuf-du-Pape harvest was sold in bulk to Burgundy, to be used as vin de medicine – a quick fix of alcohol to boost Burgundy’s strength. Decades later the practice was still commonplace.” I can’t help but wonder if these stories were also a case of a bell unable to be unrung, and that the rumors of this practice exceeded the actual occurrence.

The current theory, that a fair amount of California’s Pinots are blended with Syrah, originates with those who find little similarity between Pinot in the Golden State and the wines of Burgundy. They assert that the Pinots of California are “too big,” “too ripe,” “too alcoholic,” and “too concentrated” to be 100% Pinot Noir.

Now, I am not so naïve as to believe that Syrah (or other dark red wine) is never added to Pinot Noir in California. In fact, I know that it has been done (legally, by the way, as a wine needs only to contain 75% of a varietal to be labeled as such in California). Castle Rock Winery has mentioned a Syrah addition in their tasting notes, Chalone did the same with Petite Sirah, the Red Tree winemaker did so in an interview with Jim Laube, and Au Bon Climat has even listed the addition of Mondeuse on one of their Pinot Noir labels.

But I also know this. I have many friends that produce smaller quantities of higher quality Pinot Noir — the types of wines that we all discuss, as opposed to the more commercially available wines – and I am close enough to them to honestly discuss vineyard and winemaking techniques and I know that none of them add Syrah to their Pinots. Does that mean that I am asking you to take my word for it? Well, yes, I am. And perhaps that is no more valuable than the others who say, “Yes, they do.” And the simple fact of the matter is that all any of us can ever do is trust the word of one side or the other….but let me add this……

There are many things that can occur leading one to produce bigger and heavier Pinot Noirs. For example, in many of our vineyards we regularly experience 120 days or more between grape set and harvest. The old “rule of thumb” was that 100 days elapsed between these occurrences. These additional 20 days provide greater phenolic and color development leading to darker Pinot Noirs. The widespread use of enzymes also plays a role. Enzymes such as “Color Pro” and “Color X” break down the grapes skins allowing for greater extraction of the color that is already contained in the grape skins. Finally, California has generally eschewed the use of stems in fermentation. Wines that are produced using whole cluster ferments are generally lighter in color (ala Dujac) while those made from completely destemmed grapes tend to retain greater color intensity.

As a producer of Pinot Noir under the Siduri label and Syrah under the Novy label we have taken this topic very seriously. So much so that we have experimented, in our lab, blending a small amount of Syrah into our Pinot Noir, just to see what everyone else is accusing us of doing. And our experience is that if we were to ever to want to make such a blend, it would have to be with *** uninteresting Syrah. Syrah that has character, that has pepper and earth and meat quickly overwhelms any Pinot Noir and doesn’t work as a blending component.

There is a bigger question at play here. One of the greatest beauties of Burgundy is the wines ability to express the smallest differences in terroir. The wines from one section of vines are distinctly different than those from another, even if that section is just across a dirt road. Yet, ironically, many who celebrate these differences fail to embrace the same differences when they manifest themselves in the expressions of Pinot Noir in California. In this case they choose to emphasize typicity over terroir and because they don’t find the wines typical of Pinot Noir Burgundian expression they choose to accept the rumor that much California Pinot Noir must have an addition of Syrah. In doing this, what is lost, in my opinion, is the even greater than imagined ability for Pinot Noir to express the uniqueness of site. This greatness of Pinot Noir is truly a bell that should be rung and a rumor worth spreading.

WINE OF THE WEEKEND: 2007 Felsina Chianti Classico Reserva

"The 2007 Chianti Classico Riserva emerges with hints of smoke, underbrush, licorice, leather and wild cherries. The wine gains volume and depth in the glass as its sheer pedigree emerges over time. There is plenty of muscle to back up the delicate aromatics in a striking balance of elegance and power, all in an essentially classic, mid-weight style. The round, deeply satisfying finish makes it hard to put the glass down. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2027. 91 Points.

Felsina is a reference-point property for readers who want to discover the best Tuscany has to offer. Prices remain exceedingly fair considering the quality of what is in the bottle."

- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Item # 67924

WINE OF THE WEEKEND: 2009 Regnie, "Grain & Granit", Charly Thevenet.

Charly Thevenet is the son of famed Morgon producer Jean Paul Thevenet. His 2009 "Grain & Granit" hails from a 2 hectare planting of 70 year-old Gamay in the Cru of Regnie. Charly discovered this amazing vineyard nearly five years ago, and today farms the parcel biodynamically and organically.

The grapes are hand-harvested, and Charly does not use carbonic maceration, a process that lends many a Beaujolais their tutti fruity character. And the Grain & Granit is anything but tutti fruity. Or frivolous. It's the color of obsidian with flashes of purple and crimson, and its nose is smoky and herbaceous, with faint suggestions of black cherries and wet stone. On the palate, the wine is tense, with raspberry and black cherry fruit underscored by floral aromas and roasted meats, all framed by fine-grained tannins that catch you a bit off guard. Despite its density, the wine is far from over-extracted, with plenty of acidity to keep it lithe and lively and distinctly Gamay. This wine is really delicious now, but it promises to wow you and your wine-loving friends for a long time to come.

Item #51214

Update From Andre Ostertag

Andre Ostertag is not only one of the finest producers in all of Alsace, he's also one of the best winegrowers in the world. His attention to detail is almost as legendary as his willingness to forsake convention in his unending search to craft the finest wines possible. His wines serve as testimony to the fact that his search has not been in vain.

Andre sent us an email today, updating us on his take on the recent vintages. I thought that you might find it interesting reading.

"My first impressions after the 2010 harvest : The 2010 harvest is just over now and vintage looks like none of the former 30 ones I have vinified so far.

This is an old-fashioned vintage, I mean before global warming when we would harvest in October; a cool if not cold vintage, a bit like 1996 but, unlike some of the 1996’s, with very ripe flavour profiles. 2010 also looks like 2008 with almost the same harvesting times and maturity levels, while acidity is higher for the same alcohol content.

But the main feature of the 2010 vintage for now is low yields due to very bad flowering. In fact, flowering was disturbed through very cold weather causing coulure and hens and chickens, especially on the Rieslings and Gewurztraminers! So we had to cut off loads of bunches to end up with very little juice. 2010 will be engraved in the annals for its solid/liquid ratio, which is strongly in favor of skins and flesh at the expense of juice.

The 2010’s may then be well-structured wines with nice dry matter, indicating they may keep for a while. But we also foresee difficult sales since we have had to raise our prices due to low crop!

My impressions on 2009, after ageing and bottling: The 2009’s are now on their own and completely free from their supporting vintner! We finished bottling in mid-September. I tasted them recently and they appeared quite promising.

2009 is very different from 2010 or 2008. It is a solar vintage, as hot as a rattlesnake but not as scorching and overpowering as 2003 but rather blazing, like 1989. Of course, the wines are round and radiant but they rely on lively minerality. I cannot say enough times that biodynamic farming is good and naturally balances things out!

In 2009 the growing cycle was serene, without stress or incident until the last day of harvesting. The only pitfall was that the vintage was so rich that wines might have kept some sugar to end up sweet and imbalanced. None of that happened. Well, fermentations were long and slow but the wines were all dry wines in the end. Of course, acidity is less lively than in 2008 but beautifully supported by balancing minerality.

2009 is a solar and sensual vintage, with fresh and unctuous ripe fruit blooming from the mineral-based soil; serious yet easy-to-drink, it’s just damn good!

My impressions on the 2008 vintage after one year in bottle: 2008 is not a solar vintage, all the less a burning hot one; it would rather be completely the opposite since 2008 is so crystal-clear, like the starry sky of some clear winter night.

Indeed 2008 has all the features of the cool years that give birth to wonderful classic gems. 2008 is an elegant vintage, of course, extremely rich in details and refined textures, never showy but showing incredible energy. 2008 reminds me of 1988 in a more vibrant way; that is, a vintage for Riesling aficionados, a vintage to lay down, a vintage for those who can wait.

Regards from André Ostertag"