[winenotes]
It is my pleasure and honor to be the first Grape Debater for the wine.woot community. Tonight’s wine is the 2012 Moniker Pinot Noir from Mendocino County.
Pinot Noir is one of my favorite varietals, with the Sonoma Coast, Carneros and the Willamette Valley leading the way. I owe this predilection to my great experience on the 2010 rpm tour, which featured Pinot Noir (most from Carneros, but other AVA’s too) on day 1. Buena Vista’s Ramal Vineyard Pinot Noir sets the standard for me. I am not experienced enough with Burgundy to make any valid comparisons, unfortunately. I need to work on that.
After a short trip and a couple of days of rest, I pulled the cork. There was very little coloring on the natural cork, surprising since its been in bottle for 2 1/2 years already. A nice aroma of fresh strawberries, spices, and cherry lifesavers wafted from the bottle and my glass.
Color is translucent, garnet-infused with clear ruby reflections. It’s somewhat dark for a pinot, but not opaque by any means. The wine is medium bodied, with initial flavors of crushed pomegranates - with some stems mixed in - and good acid. On the mid-palate, there’s bing cherries, herbs, dry tannins, mint, and a slight touch of inoffensive bitterness. The finish is very dry, with tongue-wrapping red fruit, a dose of pepper, and medium length (20-30 seconds).
On the second night, I had it with chinese take-out, and while not an ideal pairing, the wine complemented the food fairly well. Each sip left me wanting more. It was at least as good if not better than when I first opened it.
Overall, I think this wine is very good, with lots of fruit but also with lots of secondary, savory flavors. I think its nicely balanced, and well made. It seems to have a decent amount of oak impact even though it only saw 7 months in barrel, so its more likely the terrior of Mendocino expressing its influence.
My guess is that this Pinot has the bones to age a while, which will give more time for the various components to integrate better. I liked it very much, but I think I’ll like it more in about 2-3 years. For a California Pinot, it reminded more of what I’d expect from Oregon. It’s definitely not a fruit bomb.
I’m not a wine merchant, just a consumer, but I think a fair price for this is in the $25 range. At under $14 here, I think its a screaming bargain for those wooters who enjoy the dryer, more savory side of pinot, without giving up too much fruit.
Thanks wine.woot, WD, and the terrific people at WCC for giving me and the whole community here a chance to participate (again!).