This tasting took place on Tuesday, May 30th, but I figured I needed to get the notes in before we taste again tomorrow! This time around we did another Chile and two from California. Our taste tests were the same, starting with a small taster glass, a Pinot Noir glass and then all 3 together in a high ball glass, I mean we didn't put them all together in one glass, but tasted them together.
We also then tasted the one we liked from Chile last week to see if we still liked it.
#1-Frontera- 2016 Pinot Noir from Cenral Valley Chili, 12.5% alcohol- $10.99 with a screw top. Color depth was very watery, ruby in color with clear clarity. The aroma was moderate. In the small taster glass, Lise smelled leather and earth, I smelled tack room leather, which is musty, manure, hay, like when you open up a tack room. In the Pinot glass it was a little more like dusty cabin/attic, dull.
Neither one of us wanted to put in our mouth. It was actually as bad as it smelled. Her comments were- "I feel like I am being punished", my comments- "Take to a party you were forced to go to." We really didn't find anything that helped the taste as far as the food pairings went, and didn't really want to continue trying it. Conclusion- Only buy this for your worst enemy.
#2- Line 39- 2014 from Northern California, alcohol-14.5% price- $8.99, with a real cork. Watery, ruby, clear. Aroma intensity varied on the glass. In the small taster glass we both put down red berry for the aroma, and agreed we were not afraid to try it as we were the first one. To me it tasted like water infused with strawberry and raspberry, Lise got a berry rhubarb. In the Pinot glass we were not as pleased. It started out with wet dog aroma, Lise said how your hands smell after you've washed your dog, I put down that after you've washed your dog, they are having fun running all over the yard and then they jump on you. We both agreed that we enjoyed it better in the small taster glass. We did like it with honey gouda, fruit tart and cranberry turkey salad. Lise commented that if she were offered this at a party, she would drink it in a small glass, I said I could drink it watching a "Say Yes To The Dress" marathon, but again, only in the small glass.
#3- Love Noir- 2015 California (no appellation), 13.5% alochol, price $9.89 with a composite cork. I was excited about this because it said dark cherry and espresso with oak on the label. I thought, "I've found my Pinot Noir!". I would drink it again. In the small glass, the aroma was fabulous and I really had my hopes up, but the taste did not follow through. In the small glass, we both smelled sweet black licorice and maybe the smell of an old country candy store. The Pinot glass made me think of strawberry twizzlers, and Lise said it smelled like sweet wet mulch or moss after a rain. The color depth was medium, ruby in color and as with all the Pinots we've tried so far, the clarity clear. Aroma intensity on this one was aromatic, light to medium depending on the glass, light tartness, low tannin, and good balance and more flavorful than we have had. We did find it hard to pair with the foods we had, the only one we put down it went with was the roasted red pepper hummus. On this one, we also liked it better in the small glass as opposed to the Pinot Noir glass. Lise thought it would be a good wine for good conversations without thinking about what you're tasting.
#4- Non Vintage Pepperwood Grove from Chile- the winner from last week. I myself liked the Love Noir better as far as just a "sipping" wine, but we both agreed that the Pepperwood Grove was better with food pairing as with most of what we tried with it seemed to enhance the food it was paired with and at a price of $6.99, still a contender.
So there was really no clear winner on this one, I liked the Love Noir, Lise still preferred the Pepperwood Grove, and we both agreed we could drink the Line 39 again. Fun times!
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