November 2010 Wine Club Selections

The Global Pinot Family of Wines Each November, I like to dedicate a month of Wine Club to celebrating a very special, very fickle, and very delicious family of grapes: the Pinot family. The Pinot family consists of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris/Grigio, and Pinot Blanc, along with the more obscure Pinot Meunier, often used in sparkling wines. Undeniably, some of the best Pinot grapes are grown in the US, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, and several of those are represented here. But to spend a month with this family of wines and not venture to the equally stellar growing regions of Alsace, Friuli and Burgundy seemed a missed opportunity. (When it comes to drinking good wine, we never want you to miss an opportunity.) The Pinot family of grapes began with Pinot Noir and mutated to include a variety of colors and flavor characteristics, but they all have one very important thing in common. Pinot grapes are rather finicky, delicate, temperamental grapes to grow. So every region, and more importantly every producer that grows them, needs to do everything just right. Whether the Pinot gracing your table hails from Burgundy or the Willamette Valley, Alsace or Italy, we hope you enjoy every sip of this go perfect or go home family of grapes.

2009 Lucien Albrecht Pinot Blanc Grape variety: Pinot Blanc Region: Alsace, France Food pairing: Tarte flambee (White Pizza with ham and onion) Many of us know our Pinot Gris (Grigio to many) and our Pinot Noir all too well, but when is the last time you took the time to sip a glass of the lightest Pinot grape of all, Pinot Gris? And at that, when is the last time said wine, or any wine you drank, for that matter, hailed from Alsace? Well, today's the day. The Albrecht family has been involved in winegrowing since Romanu Albrecht first settled in Thann in the year 1425. Though their portfolio includes many of the classic grapes grown in Alsace (Sylvaner, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Muscat, Gewurztraminer), the Albrechts have a particular talent for making a Pinot Blanc that's harvested when the fruit is perfectly and fully ripe, imparting a supple, full texture with stone fruit notes and clean acidity on the finish. Enjoy with Alsace's answer to white pizza, tarte flambee, (garnished with creme fraiche or fromage blanc, onions and lardons or ham), or with salad and lighter starter courses. More info: http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/france/60317.html 2006 Evergreen Spruce Goose Pinot Noir Grape variety: Pinot Noir Region: Oregon Food pairing: Roasted Parsnips and fennel Sometimes, odd little ideas just work. Take, for instance, Howard Hughes' crazy aspiration to create the first flying boat made entirely of wood. Now granted, it cost over $25 million and flew only one mile in November of 1947, but it proved that the seemingly impossible was, well, sort of possible. Flash forward to 1989. The Spruce Goose is now housed in the Evergreen Avation and Space Museum in the heart of the Willamette Valley, Oregon, where flight enthusiasts flock to marvel at the enormous plane every day. And being that they are smack in the middle of wine country, the caretakers of the Evergreen museum had an odd little idea of their own: why not plant some grapes around the museum and make a Spruce Goose commemorative wine? Just over two decades later, we now enjoy the 2006 release of Evergreen Spruce Goose Pinot Noir: a fruit-forward, easy-drinking Oregon Pinot with Hughes' obsession right on the label...and quite the conversation starter for the dinner table. More info: http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/oregon/14615.html

2009 Scarpetta Pinot Grigio Grape variety: Pinot Grigio Region: Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy Food pairing: Ricotta ravioli, brown butter and sage To be perfectly honest (and perhaps a bit undiplomatic), Pinot Grigio bores me. Most of the time. It's not that the Pinot Gris/Grigio grape isn't a good one; it certainly has the potential to be so. But many Pinot Grigios end up as sort of the "lite beer" of wines: lacking any really notable flavor, but at the end of the day...inoffensive, light, refreshing, easy for most anyone to drink without complaining. This, I'm happy to say, is not one of those Pinot Grigios. American Sommelier Bobby Stuckey and Chef Lachlan Patterson of Frasca Food and Wine (arguably one of Boulder, Colorado's best restaurants) got together to collaborate on a Pinot Grigio project in Fruili that's flavorful enough and packing enough body and acidic backbone to pair with their favorite foods. Hands-down, this is my favorite Italian Pinot Grigio on the shelf right now, enjoyable both for sipping on its own and with Northern Italian butter-laden pastas. More info: http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/italy/14556.html 2007 Lemelson Pinot Noir Thea's Selection Grape Variety: Pinot Noir Region: Williamette Valley, Oregon Food pairing: Tea-poached duck with beets I'm an optimist, but a slight skeptic as well. So if you tell me a wine is not showing particularly well now but will in a year or two, I'm hopeful...but doubtful. Just as I was when I made a visit to the Willamette Valley in the Fall of 2009, when everyone was pouring the less-than-touted 2007 vintage of Pinot Noir (known for being a bit on the light and acidic side) and assuring me that, just like Burgundy, all it needed was a little time in the bottle to develop. I didn't taste the potential then, and I doubted a bit that their predictions were true. But I ate my words when I returned this summer, in the midst of the release of the much-heralded and much bolder 2008 vintage and found that I actually enjoyed some of the 2007's much more after a year of bottle age. This was one of those overachieving 2007's: gorgeously balanced with strawberry, tart cherry, and smoked tea notes and a little (dare I say?) 'Burgundian' earthiness. More info: http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/oregon/14765.html

2008 Go Figure Pinot Noir Grape Variety: Pinot Noir Region: Montalcino, Williamette Valley, Oregon Food pairing: Roast Turkey with wild mushroom gravy One of our prized releases from our own GF project, the 2008 Lot 6 Oregon Pinot Noir is an absolutely gorgeous Pinot Noir sourced mainly from the Willamette Valley in the excellent 2008 vintage. We had the wine made by our friends at one of Oregon's hottest new wineries, overseen by a very well-heeled Burgundian winemaker, and we're loving how it has evolved in the bottle throughout the year that we've had it available. This Pinot Noir, like many from Oregon particularly in the 2008 vintage, is richer and more structured than many California Pinots, with a deep black cherry fruit core and earthy "forest floor" notes to provide added complexity. The balance of rich fruit and earth notes makes it an ideal pairing with Thanksgiving dinner, from root vegetables to cranberry sauce and rich mushroom gravy. More info: http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/oregon/11009.html 2005 Famille Claude Dugat Gevrey Chambertin La Gibryott Grape variety: Pinot Noir Region: Gevrey-Chambertin, Burgundy, France Food pairing: Pork Loin with cherry reduction You can't talk about age-worthy Pinot Noir without talking about Burgundy, particularly Gevrey-Chambertin, a cru noted for producing wines that often stand up to ten, twenty, or more years of ageing. Claude Dugat and his son Bertrand make just such wines, and this negociant wine, La Gibryotte, was commissioned by Claude for those who love his winemaking style. Wine reviewer David Schildknecht of the Wine Advocate called his wines "formidable", making "no concessions to early charm" but carrying notes of "dried cherry, cranberry and wood smoke and a concentrated, sweet yet pithy, chewy palate of chocolate-dipped and kirsch-saturated dried cherries." The notoriously tough critic Allen Meadows of the Burghound is also a fan, calling his style "outstanding", noting an expressive and "pungently earthy aromatic profile." A village wine of exceptional quality in a great vintage, this could easily age for a few more years, but with four years of bottle age already on it, this wine is beginning to soften and open up well right now.

2006 Domaine G. Roumier Chambolle-Musigny Grape variety: Pinot Noir Region: Chambolle-Musigny, Burgundy, France Food pairing: Grilled or roasted quail When it was time to make the selections for Pinot Month in Wine Club, I went to our French buyer to help me choose a great Burgundy for the Premiere Club. "What do you think about Domaine Roumier Chambolle-Musigny?" I said. "Best Chambolle-Musigny there is," he replied. And that was enough. Domaine Georges Roumier is run by the father and son team of Jean-Marie and Christophe Roumier (the son and grandson of Domaine founder Georges Roumier.) Their wines are spread out over nine different appellations, but it's their Chambolle-Musigny that intrigues the palate of the critics and our French buyer alike. Many consider Chambolle-Musigny to be quintessential Burgundy, the most elegant and delicate, and Roumier to be quintessential Chambolle. Wine critic Allen Meadows (aka Burghound) noted of this wine "A very Chambolle nose that is airy, elegant, fresh and bright" with elements of "herbs, spice, flowers and sweet berries." On the other hand, some have noted Christophe's winemaking style to be a bit more intense and robust than other Chambolles, all the while retaining the necessary elegance. Refined, balanced and enjoyable now, this wine should also reward a bit of time in the bottle. http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/france/77230.html 2008 Berstrom Pinot Noir DeLancellotti Vineyard Grape Variety: Pinot Noir Region: Chehalem Mountains, Oregon Food pairing: Pan-roasted salmon with blood orange reduction Josh Bergstrom is an energetic young winemaker in Oregon's Willamette Valley. With a bit of experience working the cellars of Burgundy and a few vintages of his own under his belt, he's now expanding his single-vineyard bottling program, focusing specifically on a few vineyards well chosen and owned by himself and his family members. The 2008 vintage was quite kind to Josh and his wines, as it was to many in the Willamette Valley, offering a bold yet refined profile of Pinot Noir. "The sleeper of the past two vintages, the de Lancellotti Vineyard has gained in energy, intensity, and strength without gaining the high alcohol or over the top quality," Josh says of his bottling. "In my mind, the de Lancellotti Vineyard can be summed up as the essence of elegance, ripe dark red fruits, the balance between floral and herbal, a showcase of sweet spice and silky tannin. I am very excited about where this 22-acre Biodynamic vineyard is heading." On a recent trip to Oregon, Gary and I took the opportunity to visit Bergstrom's cellar and to take Josh out to dinner at a restaurant in nearby McMinnville. Humbly yet confidently, Josh presented us with several vintages of his wine, ranging from 2006 through 2008, and spoke of his wishes to make the best representation of his Oregon vineyards in the spirit of Burgundy, which is to say, suited for ageing beyond early drinking. All of his wines proved to age gracefully, whether from the very ripe 2006 vintage, the rather lean 2007 vintage, or the bold yet balanced 2008 vintage: the mark of truly great vineyards and a truly talented winemaker. More info: http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/oregon/14880.html