While on a trip recently I took a bottle of wine I have been wanting to try. It was from an area I haven’t tried and was quite excited to greet this new place through this wine.
Not being as familiar with this area, I did not have an expectation of what this wine would taste like. I did expect something Pinot Noiresque. This guy tasted more like a cool climate Syrah than a Pinot Noir to me. I typically think of Pinot Noir as being delicate and feminine. He was neither of those things.
After writing down my notes, I wanted to see the notes that the winery wrote. This wine was complicated, interesting, and contradictory. It was, in a word, fascinating! They said the wine was, “pure red fruit, accentuated by a crisp, lifting acidity. Hints of underbrush and herbs adds complexity to the blend. This wine will surely put on weight and gain with the passage of time.” They were spot on with the last part of the note.
The song, “I Am What I Am” from La Cage aux Folles is what came to mind as I tasted this wine. He did not give a damn about my opinions or preconceived notions on Pinot Noir. He was who he was!
Gun Smoke and flint were the prominent aromas with a hint of rust. The flavors were a somewhat muddled blend of cola, flint, baking spice, and bacon. The cola and flint gave way to baking spices mid-palate. This is where all the fruit came in as well. Plum, Black Cherry, and Black Raspberry crept up through the spices. Rather than bold and juicy fruit flavors, these were more subtle, dried flavors. They didn’t fight with each other but each had their own distinct place, unlike the spices, flint, and cola.
The wine is the 2012 Siduri Chehalem Mountains Pinot Noir. It is one of many Pinot Noirs that Siduri has in their portfolio. Chehalem Mountains is a sub A.V.A. of Willamette Valley and was recognized as a distinct A.V.A. in 2006 after a 4 year application process.
50 barrels of this wine were made. 30 from Arbre Vert vineyard, 11 from Hawk’s View Vineyard, and 9 from Muirfield Vineyard. Siduri used to make Pinot Noir from two different Willamette Valley A.V.A.’s and have decided to now focus solely on the Chehalem Mountains as it is the northern most of the the two and is a cooler region. It is more differentiated from California Pinot Noir, which informed their decision.
This wine was intriguing, complicated, and unlike any Pinot Noir I have every had.
Purveyor Of Happiness 