At tonight's dinner we had 3 Pinot Noirs from three different locals: France, New Zealand, and Oregon. It was really exciting to be able to drink three different wines, from 3 different parts of the world, with three completely different profiles, and yet they all made from the same grape. I also thought the food pairings were great for Pinot Noir, as they all appealed to the different essences of the wine.
After we sat down, they immediately brought us our wine. It was immediately apparent that all were different shades of red. The wine from France was the lightest, while the one from Oregon was the darkest. Before the food came out, I wanted to get a profile of each on their own without the food. Unfortunately, my allergies have been acting up, so congestion prevented my from getting a true sense of the nose. But I did my best to describe the nose and taste.
Only a few minutes later, they brought out our food and it was AMAZING! The three course menu included a poached pear with cherries and walnuts, herbed goat cheese crostini, and chicken with a mushroom stuffing. These food pairing were great for a Pinot Noir tasting because they brought out the best qualities in the wine, yet some stilled paired better with certain wines over other. Overall, these were light aperitifs that paired great with the light fruity, elegant Pinot Noir.
Clserie des Lys~ Pinot Noir 2010 ~ Languedoc, France
This grapes in the wine were grown on a south-facing slope near the Pyrenees Mountains which lead to long maturation and higher sugar levels. The wine is 1/2 ages in French barrels of which (10% is new) and 1/2 in stainless steal. This wine was the lightest in color and overall most one dimensional. I actually had a difficult time describing this particular wine because there were no heavy or obvious flavors pushes to the front. I got very little off the nose, it actually reminded me most of a grape juice with alcohol. There was a faint cherry nose, but it was more of the sweet cherry grenadene syrup that you put on ice cream sundaes that the deep intriguing black cherry found in many red wines. Overall this wine was light, smooth with no tanins or acids, and was my least favorite of the wines. It was blended well with no apparent flaws, but little flavor. This wine paired best with the poached pear. The slight sugar content brought out other berry fruit flavors that were not at first apparent. I also really like this wine with the goat cheese crosstini which brought out the earthiness and spice in the wine. The chicken did not pair as well with this particular wine because it out-flavored it making the wine taste bland.
Ponga~ Pinot Noir 2010~Marlborough, New Zealand
This wine was crafted to represent the countries beautiful and diverse landscape with a certain freshness and vibrancy. This wine was slightly darker than the one from France, but not as dark as the one from Oregon. The noise is very fruity with with cherries, plums, and blackberries with an overall fresh and clean. I was surprised by the amount of fruit acid in this wine that is not normally found in reds. It almost tasted like eating unripened fruit that still needs more time to develop sugars. I liked the smooth, fresh, clean finish with more earthy undertones. The mild tannin structure also gave this wine a lengthy finished that seemed to stay in my mouth forever. I did not this wine with the goat cheese. The fat in the cheese did not pair well with the acids in this wine and made it taste extremely sour. I liked this wine paired with the chicken, the chicken distinguished the Tannins in the wine, highlighting the nice structure of the wine. However, this wine paired best with the pear. The sweetness in the fruit brought out the fruitiness and jamminess in the wine, while melting the acids making this wine nice and smooth.
Rainstorm- Pinot Noir 2009~ Oregon
I was excited to see this wine as I was familiar with the Pacific Rim and their line of dry Rieslings. Rieslings have been my favorite grape for a while. When I was first trying new wines, I enjoyed the sweetness of the grape, but as my palate has matured I still enjoy the diversity that the grape brings, without some much sugar and therefore have enjoyed the Pacific Rim brand. I very much enjoyed this wine and I think it was my favorite of the three. It was distinctively the most complex with both structure from a lot of tannins, but the heavy berry and fruit aromas, with underlying spices of cinnamon and vanilla. I liked that this wine was both structured, with the most body of the three, yet was so smooth. The goat cheese was an excellent pairing, as the fat melted away any harsh tannins leaving a smooth lusciousness finish and great taste. I think this wine did not pair well with the pear, as the more structured wine and the sweetness of the pear seemed to accentuate the tannin and the acids in the wine, in which were not as noticeable before. The chicken and gravy was also a great pairing with the wine. The light protein was perfect with the light red wine, and yet hid any flaws the wine might have under the structure of the food, while highlighting the fruit in the wine.
After dinner we were each so impressed with out food that we ordered dessert. I had girl scout cookie cheese cake while my husband has the chocolate lava cake! Both we the perfect end to a perfect dinner. We loved the Palisades and can not wait to go back!
