by Dr. Bob Ouellette

Trying our luck again with California’s efforts to put forth a good pinot noir, fifteen Compagnons, sat in comfort to appraise wines from various vintages. To our surprise, California has come a long way in producing good pinot noirs. Not to say however that these wines are clones of France’s Burgundies.

 Using our usual scale of 100 points, all wines scored in the good to excellent range. The wines were served blindly in no special order. One extra wine was added at the end at the request of Dr. Busch, a fan of Jess Parker’s wine.

 All the wines presented a typical strawberry to light ruby color. Gentle aromas of moderate cherry or black berry fruit greeted the nose. A sweet perception was also noted at that time which is characteristic of California offerings. The palate again had pronounced sweetness with some spice, chocolate, and smoky nuances, The balance was for the most part adequate and the finish pleasant. All in all, the wines were enjoyable and certainly an improvement over past efforts.

 From the scores below, it is evident that the later vintages were preferred and possibly added to the knowledge of the winemakers vis-à-vis this varietal, which is not the easiest to control. Again it was noted that the Russian River, Carneros and the southern California regions are without a doubt the best regions to grow pinot noir.

drbob@oxfordwineroom.com