Part of the uniqueness of Pinot Days is a series of sit-down blind tastings held during the event. Limited to 80 people and held over the course of an afternoon and evening, we were able to taste sixteen wines from the Russian River and Sonoma Coast appellations, followed by a similar number of wines from Pisoni, Garys’ and Rosella’s vineyards. Having the entire afternoon gave us ample opportunity to study these wines side-by-side. As each of the wines were unmasked, the respective winemakers were asked to speak about the their efforts, and field questions from the audience.
Join us as we hear remarks from several of these producers.
More Information on Pinot Days:
2007 Pinot Days: www.pinotdays.com
Speakers:
Scott Rich, Talisman Cellars - www.talismanwine.com
Michael Keller, Keller Estate - www.kellerestate.com
Akiko Freeman, Freeman Winery - www.freemanwinery.com
Michael Browne, Kosta Browne - www.kostabrowne.com
Gary Franscioni, Garys’ and Rosella’s Vineyards - www.garysvineyard.com
Ryan Zepaltas, Siduri Winery - www.siduri.com
Gary Pisoni, Pisoni Vineyards and Winery - www.pisonivineyards.com
Wines Tasted:
SONOMA
FLIGHT 1 SONOMA COAST
2003 Copeland Creek
2004 Rivers Marie Summa Vineyard
2003 Talisman Thorn Ridge
2004 Keller Estate La Cruz Vineyard
FLIGHT 2 RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY
2004 Dutton Goldfield Dutton Ranch
2004 Joseph Swan Trenton Estate
2004 Davis Bynum ‘Le Pinot’
2004 Scherrer
FLIGHT 3 SONOMA COAST
2004 Freeman Akiko’s Cuvee
2004 Kosta Browne
2002 Fort Ross Vineyard Reserve
2004 Williams Selyem
2004 Kosta Browne Kanzler
FLIGHT 4 RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY
2004 Lynmar
2004 Inman Family Olivet Grange
2004 Dain American Beauty
2004 Siduri Keefer Ranch
2004 Loring Keefer Ranch
SAN LUCIA HIGHLANDS
FLIGHT 1 GARYS’ VINEYARD
2004 Capiaux
2004 Roar
2004 Lucia
2004 Testarossa
2004 A. P. Vin
FLIGHT 2 ROSELLA’S
2004 Loring
2004 Vision Cellars
2004 Morgan
2004 Miner
FLIGHT 3 - ROSELLA’S
2004 Siduri
2004 Roar
2004 Bernardus
2004 August West
FLIGHT 4 - PISONI
2004 Pisoni Estate
2004 Patz & Hall
2004 Arcadian
2004 Tantarra
Sponsor: North Berkeley Imports: www.northberkeleyimports.com
Click Below to Play the Show:
(33:04 min 15 MB)
Enjoyed the program, folks! Looking forward to Pinot Days 2007.
Would it be possible to put up the entire recording for the program? Even unedited…it’ll make my work day go that much faster!
Keep up the good work.
Did you guys take notes from this tasting. I think it would be interesting to see what you thought of each wine given the blind tasting format. With the SLH SV wines were you able to pull out distinquishing characteristics in Rosella’s, Gary’s, and Pisoni? And which wines did you think showed best from each vineyard.
Thanks and keep up the great work! Always love listening to your shows.
Nate, maybe not. I’ll see what I can dig up.
Eric
Not your best show. Listening to wine maker after wine maker say, “x cases and y % alc.” isn’t very interesting. If it were not for Pisoni this would have been a bust. More one on ones like the earlier two shows in this series (Pinot days).
Well Tim, you got to call them as you see them. I will pay more attention to this point you raised in the future. That being said, after listening to Pisoni anyone is going to sound boring.
Jay
Fellas, pleez, we want more Pisoni!!!
Getting back to Nate’s request for tasting notes, Doug Wilder, from Vinfolio, has given us permission to reprint his own tasting notes from the event. Thanks, Doug!!
FLIGHT 1 SONOMA COAST
2003 Copeland Creek
Ruby garnet in color. Aromas of tar, black cherry and vanilla in the nose. Creamy and smooth with nice acidity.
2004 Rivers Marie Summa Vineyard
Ulfiltered, opaque ruby in color. Aromas of herbs, cherries (stem retention?) Light and delicate on the palate with some herb, mineral hints to the rich and somewhat smoky flavors.
2003 Talisman Thorn Ridge
Bright ruby garnet in glass. Hardly showing anything in the nose…Heavy on the palate, tannic and decidedly green on the finish.
2004 Keller Estate La Cruz Vineyard
Dark ruby color. Aromas are dusty, heavy and smoky. The flavors are robust showing rich dark cherry and earth.
FLIGHT 2 RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY
2004 Dutton Goldfield Dutton Ranch
Dark Garnet in color. The aromatics are clean and crisp focusing on red fruit. The flavors are compact and tightly wound up.
2004 Joseph Swan Trenton Estate
Dark ruby in color. Heavy, dull aromas with seemingly big alcohol. Others liked this, I didn’t.
2004 Davis Bynum ‘Le Pinot’
Dark garnet in color. A beautiful elegant perfume, very smooth on the front of the palate but tightens up on finish.
2004 Scherrer
Bright garnet in color.bright, vital aromas of orange, cherry with some stems. Excellent flavors and vibrancy. Integrated, smooth and rich.
FLIGHT 3 SONOMA COAST
2004 Freeman Akiko’s Cuvee
Bright garnet color. A pretty delicate quality to the nose. Smooth cherry and dark fruits on palate.
2004 Kosta Browne
The darkest in color. The nose was somewhat reticent with some dusty characteristics. The flavors are overall well integrated. Creamy, intense and rich.
2002 Fort Ross Vineyard Reserve
A nice surprise of a wine I have not yet experienced at Vinfolio. Bright garnet in color. Hints of mint in the smooth aromas. On the palate it showed excellent depth and texture.
2004 Williams Selyem
Bright garnet ruby in color. A nose of herb, mineral and cherry. Clean and focused on palate. Great texture.
2004 Kosta Browne Kanzler
A very concentrated rich expansive wine, period.
FLIGHT 4 RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY
2004 Lynmar
Dark ruby color. Smooth and creamy cherry aromas. Rich and fully extracted on the palate.
2004 Inman Family Olivet Grange
Dark ruby color. A very tightly wound wine that didn’t open for me until near the end. A very dense, rich and compact wine on the palate.
2004 Dain American Beauty
Ruby garnet in color. Tarry, and rich aromatics. The flavors are intense, concentrated with creamy elegance. OK I see what the fuss is about!
2004 Siduri Keefer Ranch
Ruby in color. The nose has everything you could ask for in Pinot -cherry, a bit of spicy herbs and orange. The flavors are exceptional -the best of the flight, flawlessly smooth and concentrated.
2004 Loring Keefer Ranch
Ruby in color. Full throttle aromas as found in Siduri, the flavors are beautifully integrated. Cherry, mineral and spice.
My favorites of the flight were
Siduri Keefer
Dain American Beauty
Loring Keefer
The next flight was Pisoni, Garys’ and Rosella’s Vineyard Pinot Noir
FLIGHT 1 GARYS’ VINEYARD
2004 Capiaux
Dark garnet in color. The nose was pretty closed. The flavors were bright, focused and crisp without muth depth.
2004 Roar
Dark garnet in color. The aromas were narrow with some vegetal notes which also were found on the palate.
2004 Lucia
Dark garnet in color. Pretty nose of cherry and smoke. Nice length to the black cherry and mineral notes.
2004 Testarossa
Dark garnet in color. The nose shows some sweet cherry. On the palate is ripe cherry and sassafras. Big in a way I liked
2004 A. P. Vin
Dark garnet in color. Smelled like Burgundy to me. Excellent acid, a bit of heat, but very nice structure. Another example that the Squires board knows great wine!
FLIGHT 2 ROSELLA’S
2004 Loring
Bright garnet in color. Tarry in the nose with dark cherry. Exceptionally smooth and rich on the palate. Very sexy stuff.
2004 Vision Cellars
Dark garnet in color, Great nose, mocha and cherries. Very pretty on the palate - expressive cherry and spice. excellent acidity.
2004 Morgan
Garnet in color. Some light smokiness in the nose supported by smooth cherry. Very smooth, integrated flavors. Excellent
2004 Miner
Dark garnet in color. A beautiful nose of creamy cherry. Exceptional smoothness and great texture.
FLIGHT 3 - ROSELLA’S
2004 Siduri
Dark garnet in color. Black cherry and taffy in the nose. A monster of a wine! Ripe, extracted flavors without a bottom. WOW!
2004 Roar
Dark garnet in color. Notes of earth and oak in the nose. The flavors are rich and extracted.
2004 Bernardus
Disappointing. Soft and a bit green throughout. An anomaly.
2004 August West
Dark garnet in color. Bold, rich aromas along with well developed flavors of sassafras, blackcherry and mineral.
FLIGHT 4 - PISONI
2004 Pisoni Estate
Disappointing in the nose, very reticent. Ripe and juicy on the palate with pure Pisoni fruit through the mid-palate. Nice acidity on the finish though.
2004 Patz & Hall
Dark garnet in color. Smoke and black cherry on the nose. Very rich and developed throughout. Similar finish to the Pisoni.
2004 Arcadian
Dark garnet in color. Cinnamon and cherry along with other stone fruits on the nose. Delicate on the palate, great length - interesting stuff.
2004 Tantarra
Dark garnet in color. Rich dark fruit with excellent concentration and very smooth.
My favorites were
Garys’ - A.P. Vin
Rosella’s - Siduri
Pisoni - Patz & Hall