2000 Aliette Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley
WillaKenzie Estate
$13.99 (discounted $20.00/bottle!!!)
www.willakenzie.com

You’ve got to love it when you live in a state (NH) dominated by a liquor store system that doesn’t know what to do with really good wines that DON’T HAVE big ratings or snob appeal. In this system, little gems like WillaKenzie Aliette Pinot Noir are eventually found heavily discounted on liquor store shelves. I’m sure wineries such as WillaKenzie would love to discover that some of their most allocated and nationally coveted wines are relegated to price-chopper status here in the Granite State! But why complain, right?

WillaKenzie Aliette Pinot Noir shows a deep and dense plum-purple in the glass. This was a surprise considering its bottle age and caused me to wonder about the maceration techniques used to extract such rich color. I definitely prefer a more lightly extracted style so to see such a dense and uniform color was disappointing. While some vanilla, forest-floor and even licorice are evident, Aliette predominantly shows black cherry and plum fruit flavors. In fact, I found Aliette black-fruited to a fault with little more to offer.

This Pinot’s forte is its texture. Aliette is medium to full in weight with a mouthfeel that is rich and round, soft and plush. While I would have preferred more acidity, the wine’s alcohol content was nicely balanced and never hot. I couldn’t help but want something more from Aliette’s palate, which lacked a certain depth of flavor (not a desirable trait for a wine originally priced at $33.99), but this is hardly a winemaking flaw.

The use of new oak, however, was VERY well done: especially considering that 100% new oak was employed! This strongly illustrates that oak quality and method of employ matter far more than the quantity of new oak used in winemaking. Obviously very good cooperage is being used by WillaKenzie Estate and in a way that does not grossly overpower the wine, skilled winemaking for sure!

In the end, I really enjoyed this wine and while not the most captivating PN I recently have had, WillaKenzie Aliette Pinot Noir is very well made and best suited to those favoring pinot with a silken mouthfeel. Recommended! I would recommend this wine more strongly if it retailed for under $25.00!

2000 Logan Pinot Noir
Sleepy Hollow Vineyard
Monterey County
Robert Talbott Vineyards
$19.99
www.talbottvineyards.com

I have had this wine before. During this past winter, which here in New Hampshire was quite cold and snowy, this pinot was enjoyed with two lady friends over dinner and with a great fire roaring away. The wine made an impression in that setting so I was excited to have it again.

Talbott Vineyards is a family-owned and operated winery focused on quality: there is no phantom company operating this winery! Talbott focuses on chardonnay and pinot noir exclusively and is the fruit source for many other great wineries in California’s Central Coast. In fact, one can find Sleepy Hollow Vineyard on more than a few bottles of quality (and pricey) pinot.

Talbott’s 2000 Logan Pinot Noir is garnet in color with developed brickish hues from nearly five years in bottle. In the nose, the wine is sweet cherry fruit, nearly candied in quality, with very pleasant vanilla from excellent use of oak. This pinot is very polished and integrated, showcasing the softness that can come from bottle age. On the palate, Sleepy Hollow Vineyard is finely balanced possessing an extremely silky mouthfeel. This wine is very rewarding in its softness and elegance. Some subtle leafy qualities are evident beneath a tart rhubarb flavor that was very satisfying; this wine offers wonderful and interesting fruit to the nose and palate.

Unfortunately, this wine is marred by a persistent alcohol which I found to be fusel. Inhaling deeply, the nose simultaneously discovers pretty fruit and polish, laced with ethyl acetate and sting. This was subtle to be sure but especially dissapointing when considering how great this pinot is in so many other ways.

In the end, I did like this wine and believe that Logan Pinot Noir is an excellent choice for a heartier meal, and who knows, no longer needing heat to stave off Winter’s chill, it may be Spring demanding less alcoholic pinot. Recommended!

2003 La Crema Pinot Noir
Sonoma Coast
La Crema Winery
$8.99 / 375ml
www.lacrema.com

Now here is a pinot that knows just what it wants to be! To be sure, La Crema Pinot Noir is simple and fruit forward, but it is refreshing to find a pinot that does this so well offering great value in the process. La Crema is well-known for their chardonnay which enjoys a cultish following, representing a significant step-up in quality from the usual Kendall-Jackson set. This pinot is a worthy companion to its paler sibling and is a great wine to enjoy with food.

2003 La Crema Pinot Noir is a transparent and ruby red. This wine is lightly extracted and perfectly balanced from start to finish. It offers bright cherry and raspberry aromas and although decidedly fruit forward, La Crema is in no way over-ripe in fruit character. This is real pinot…..just simple! The palate is rewarded with a soft texture which is smooth and balanced, finishing like tart cherries in the mouth. The little oak this pinot does present is well-balanced and pleasant.

In the end, La Crema impressed me in that it never tried to be anything more than what it was. Unlike some similarly priced pinots that are over-wrought and cooked-through, the simple fruit flavors and excellent balance that La Crema Pinot Noir presents are both honest and refreshing: welcome guests at my dinner table! Highly recommended!