Pinot Noir Tasting Results Are In!

In order to be the worldly sophisticate that I aspire to be, I am convinced that I should know how to scuba dive, golf and appreciate Pinot Noir (the latter thanks to the movie Sideways). I have tried a variety of Pinot Noirs, but to me they generally taste like watered down sour cherry juice with a splash of something floral. Not that appealing… but I am goal-oriented, so I keep trying! And to that end, our March tasting was focused on Pinot Noirs.

With the help of Jeff Fournier, the sommelier and wine buyer at my favorite wine shop, Esquin, I selected a tasting with classic Pinot Noirs from France, Oregon and California. The bottles ranged in price from $17.99 to $94.99, allowing us the opportunity to test the differences in taste as well as preferences, regardless of price.

The night was made even more special as my friend Morgan, who blogs for Streusel and Strudel joined us and prepared food pairings that work well with Pinots (more on that later!).

Here is what we tasted:

• From the Willamette Valley in Oregon, we tried the 2013 Ken Wright Cellars Pinot Noir, which retails for $29.99. Ken Wright has been making wines for 30 years and his wines are seen as representing the best of Oregon.
• From Dundee Hills, Oregon, we tried the 2011 Westrey Pinot which also retails for $29.99. Westry has been around for 20 years and they specialize in sustainable winemaking (which, as a Pacific Northwesterner, I can’t help but love!)
• From the Santa Lucia Highlands (near Monterey), we sampled a 2012 Hahn SLH – a bargain at just $17.99. I really wanted to throw a Pinot from the Santa Lucia Highlands in the mix because I am told that they keep their grapes on the vine longer which leads to heavier, denser wines than your typical Oregon Pinots. And I am a fan of Hahn because I had a raucous and memorable day at the Hahn Winery with my mom, aunt and cousins a few years back… it brings back such good memories that I couldn’t resist!
• To round it out, we went big with a classic French Pinot Noir, the 2012 Domaine Dujac from the Morey-Saint-Denis region which retails for $94.99. Domaine Dujac is a family-run, all organic operation founded in 1967, focused on Burgundy wines.

As always, it was a blind tasting so that none of the tasters would know which wines they were drinking. Of the group, we had 12 tasters representing 3 of the 4 tribes, Balanced, Developed, and Complex. Want to know what tribe you are in? Take the quiz here and then check out the “Wine Picks By Tribe” section for personalized recommendations based on your palate.

As it turns out, regardless of tribe, it appears that my friends and I are not huge fans of Oregon Pinots. Overall, on a scale of 1-5 (with 1 being terrible and 5 being amazing), the average scores for the Oregon Pinots were 2.5. The Balanced and Developed tribes preferred the Ken Wright and the Complex tribe preferred the Westry (based on the typical palate of the Complex tribe, this isn’t surprising as the Westry seemed to have a little more heft).

In describing the Ken Wright, people detected scents of cherries, wood, and flowers and used words like “thin”, “acidic”, “sour cherries” to describe the light flavor. The Westry wasn’t much more enticing… the tribes smelled cherry cough drops and vanilla and tasted spice, pepper and cough syrup.

It was a bright new world when the Hahn SLH emerged! Easily the crowd favorite, its scents included dulce de leche, berries, and ”water bed with satin sheets” (side note: apparently, people sniff various beds and think that waterbeds smell good – huh??). Needless to say, that taster equated this wine with good sex, so clearly it was his favorite. Other tasters loved the silky, plummy and spicy tastes. A number of Developed and Complex tribe members commented on the heavier and richer mouthfeel as compared to the Oregon Pinots. As an aside, when folks discovered this was the least expensive wine of the bunch they were even more over the moon for this wine.

Finally, we tasted the French Pinot which wound up being the group’s second favorite. People detected smells of smoke, leather and cherry with a few strong comments like “smells like an extinguished match” or “band-aids!”. Its taste was described as multilayered and distinct along with being sharp, nutty and peppery. This wine had more going on than the Oregon Pinots but was not necessarily a wine that you would reach for intuitively.

As always, we tried the wines with and without food to compare how the flavors in the food brought out the notes in the wine. Thanks to Morgan for bringing foods that paired so nicely, notably the salmon crackers with herb spread, and a few other dishes featuring mushrooms and berries (NOT together). I also found a recipe for a super easy pork tenderloin with fresh herbs (delish!).

Overall, it was a great night with lots of laughs, new friends, yummy food and interesting wines. Plus I was able to check one thing off of my worldly sophisticate list (may scuba diving be so easy to accomplish!). And as for me and the rest of the gang, the Hahn SLC Pinot is our new go-to. I suspect that had members of the Accessible tribe been present they would have preferred the Ken Wright Pinot given its delicate flavors. And what about you? What is your favorite Pinot? Please leave a comment below.

Cheers!