Pictures from Right to Left: Brian Loring Loring (Loring Wine Company) & Frank Murry (host), and finally the wine
So what happens when your friend suggests we do a Pinot Noir tasting at his house and then he invites a few wine makers? Well, I would say an amazing day with a whole lot of wine, almost all of it provided by the generous wine-makers. Once one wine-maker joined in, it seemed like a competition to see who could provide the most wine. This was such a great opportunity because I got to try all 2004 Pinots from The Loring Wine Co (LWC), A.P. Vin, Alcina, Dain Wines and 4 or 5 from Siduri. With so much wine it is not what I would consider the best way to judge a wine but it is great for getting familiar with the different styles and flavor profiles of different vineyards and wine-makers. Basically, it is a lot of short pours and a lot of spitting. A few wines jumped out at me, in no particular order:
- A.P. Vin & LWC “Clos Pepe Vineyard” Simply fantastic. There is probably not much A.P. Vin out there but the LWC is not yet released. Get on the list if you want some.
- Siduri & LWC “Keefer Ranch Vineyard” Both of these were awesome.
- Dain Wines Anticipation “Alder Springs Vineyard” Wow, this was a nice surprise for me. I had never even heard of this vineyard and of course, this was my first experience with Dain Wines. Great spicy wine with a lot going on. Look for this one to really start shinning in a few years.
- Alcina is another new wine on the scene. Buy everything you can. This is quality stuff. Greg brought his new Russian River Valley bottling that is drinking well already. Typical red fruit RRV Pinot. Great acidity that makes this wine very food friendly. Alcina’s “Sangiacomo Vineyard” is a different animal. It is a very structured wine that will need time to show all it has to offer. The 03 Sangiacomo is one of my wines of the year (05).
- Not a Pinot, but Greg from Alcina also brought his 03 “Gabrielli Vineyard” Syrah. To me this is all that is good with California Syrah. California fruit profile with the elegance and age ability of a Rhone. Give this one 4 or 5 years.
I can honestly say I didn’t taste a stinker in the bunch. After tasting about 25 wines, that is an amazing statement.
And a huge thanks to the wine-makers for their generosity. This is a cool bunch of guys.
Cheers,
~Jason
Jason & Greg Piatigorski (Alcina Cellars)
