Oregon and New Zealand Pinots (and Ed Kurtzman's nose).
A recent tasting in San Francisco (Les Amis du Bourgogne, a long-running group around the Bay Area) tried recent Oregon Pinots Noirs, with a New Zealand ringer. Tom Elliot of Northwest Wines Ltd. hosted this time, in a restaurant back room (with, as sometimes there, another table with another tasting group sharing the room). 10 tasters including a guest from one of the wineries, Domaine Serene. This group (like many similar ones) addresses wines blind, records impressions, adds personal preference rankings for novelty and conversational value, then combines those rankings for a group preference ranking, unveiling and discussing the wines from least to most favorite.
Wines were from Willamette Valley, Oregon, except Akarua 02 Bannokburn, Central Otago (NZ), and all retail circa US $30 to 40: Domaine Serene 01 Evenstad Reserve and 02 Yamhill Cuvée, Elk Cove 02 Roosevelt, Francis-Tannahill 02 The Hermit, Lachini 02 Lachini Family Estate, Ponzi 01 Reserve, Shea 02 Pommard Clone.
Highlights were group's (also my) first and second favorites, Dom. Serene 01 Evenstad (I found it restrained, smoky, and herbed fruit on the nose, sage or marjoram; palate oily, very herbal, coffee; classy overall -- note that I like high-toast Pinots such as Groffier's) and the Elk Cove 02 Roosevelt (again restrained or reserved nose with carbonic whiff, dark rich Pinot; on palate reserved, concentrated, mineraled, fine fruit and structure). Francis-Tannahill 02 The Hermit was my (and group's) third choice (bananaoid fruit on nose, bit of barnyard; slick wood, fine structure). These three excelled clearly in group's preference rankings. Group's (also my) two least favorites were Dom. Serene 02 Yamhill Cuvée (odd acetic-acid smell with overnote exactly like chewable children's vitamins which, despite being good for you as another taster reminded me, don't belong in Pinot Noir; taste had softish approach recalling the many painstakingly insipid California Merlots, some Port-Salut Pinot flavors, solid) and Lachini 02 Lachini Family Estate (restrained smoky pinot on nose; taste very smoky, immature berry; well made but unexciting, the palate fruit might be thin). The Akarua came out in the middle by preference (nose fireplace-brick smoke, dark berries, burnt caramel; taste concentrated, mineraled, hard Burgundian structure, a little clumsy like some young Côtes-de-Nuits, give it a little time and see).
Coincidentally, conducting at the other table in the room was Ed Kurtzman, long-time regular too of the Amis group and a local winemaker (at Testarossa for some years). Ed K, besides being soft-spoken and gracious, has a good professional nose. It was he who caught a whiff of controversial Brettanomyces at a tasting years ago with the same group, and rather than anyone wonder about it, promptly sent a sample for lab analysis (result positive). During a quiet moment after both tables tasted their wines, Ed came over and visited, and one of the wine merchants at our table poured a blind sample from a bottle of a "mystery" wine he had brought (a 1994 Oregon Pinot, holding up well). Ed took a sniff from the glass and asked eagerly "1994 Oregon Pinot?" (Causing approval and professional congratulation among others in the business who were present.)