Like Dale, I have been fighting off a cold these past few days and not drinking much wine (herb tea has been more my speed). However, Jean last week charged me with a most serious task: "We don't have enough ready to drink Pinot Noir in the cellar. Buy me some, cases of it!" Who can resist an order like that? ;-) So, this week we took receipt of several different low level PN bottlings from some of our favorite domestic producers. Tonight, at Jean's request, I opened:
2007 Navarro Pinot Noir "Methode à l'Ancienne" (unfiltered) nose: slightly sappy, cherry liqueur, dusty stones, smoke, spices palate: medium-light body, vibrant acidity, slightly lactic, a hint of oak
Purchased from the winery for $31 (a filtered version sells for $29 - WTF?). This wine gives the impression of youth to such an extent that Jean insisted that the rest of the bottles go into the cellar for a year or two, but the overall package is a very appealing one. Although clearly of a California idiom, this wine wouldn't be out of place in a lineup of '07 Bourgognes. Fairly complex even at this early stage, it should benefit from a few years of bottle age and has the structure to develop. My only quibble is with the pricing, since I can get Drouhin Chorey-les-Beaune for almost $10/bottle less, but I can't find any of that right now.
Mark Lipton