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It's the PINOT stupid!

Apr 13th, 2009
by winebratsf.

Recently, I was lucky enough to attend the 7th Annual Passion for Pinot Summit.  This was an opportunity for the Pinot Noir lover, Press & Trade to get together and have a Pinot Noir Taste-Off.

This is a unique event that really pulls the lid off of wine judging, and allows the average Josephine to become a wine judge for a day.  While the officially judges taste 32 wines each day for an eternity until the contenders were whittled down, the attendees at the Summit were given the top 44 wines to taste blind in The Final Showdown.  Additionally, the attendees at the Pinot Summit got to vote on our top 3 wines, in a Girls vs. Boys challenge, that shows us that there really is a difference in biological palates.

Below are my tasting notes from my favorites, plus the group winners by gender, and the over all judges winners for kicks.  I’ve also included some tasting notes, just cuz, well, they help! Here are my 90+ pointers.

Color

Points

Tasting Notes

Wine Name
Lilac 92 Rich spices, black raspberry. Dr Pepper, lavender. Herbs Fort Ross 2005 Estate Reserve
Black 92 Brick color. Cherry, chocolate, black cherry Sonoma Coast Vineyards 2005 Freestone Hills
Red 92 Deep dark rich red. Bright red fruit, cherry cola. Brown sugar, raspberry jam. Black cherry. Baking spices. Left Edge Winery 2007 Bodega Rdige Vyd
Chartreuse 92 Pale, light, cola. Very light, dried oranges. Bargetto 2006
Dark Red 91 Pomegranate, red zinger tea, strawberry jam RN Estate 2007 Fiddlestix Vyd
Khaki 91 Cherry cola, slight barnyard that blew off. Pomegranate, bright cherries, bark, mushrooms Segue Cellars 2007 Filligreen Vyd
Coral 90 Back cherry, dark earth. Roses & lavender. Herbaceous. Zesty. Heart O’ The Mountain 2006 Estate
Blue/Green 90 Light juicy, cloves & spice, mince meat Adobe Road Winery 2006
Blue 90 Big spicy fruit. Dr Pepper. Vision Cellars 2007 Coster Vyds
Deep Purpple 90 Bronze red. Rhubarb pie, spicy smoke Londer Vyds 2006 Paraboll
Periwinkle 90 Very light. Nice balance, light spice. Cherry. Claiborne & Churchhill 2006 Twin Creeks
Pumpkin 90 Raspberry, cranberry, hibiscus, great with food. Brutocao Cellars 2006 Estate Bottled
Purple 90 Big rich syrah like. Blackberry Jam. David Brucie Winery 2005 Reserve

Once the business was out of the way, the wines were unveiled, and we were invited to the Grand Tasting reception.  This was when we matched our favorite wines, previously only identified as colors, to their names.  This was also when we could see the medal winners from the official competition, as well as try some other offerings from the participating wineries.

Here’s how my top three compared to the rest of the attendees:

Summit Men

Panel Men

Summit Women

Panel Women
Purple- David Bruce 2005 Reserve Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast Red- Left Edge Winery 2007 Bodega Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noit, Sonoma Coast Red - Left Edge Winery 2007 Bodega Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noit, Sonoma Coast Turquoise - Bohemian Vineyard 2007 Freestone Estate Pinot Noir, Russian River
Periwinkle- Claiborne & Churchill 2006 Twin Creeks Pinot Noir, Edna Valley (Periwinkle) Coral- Heart O’ The Mountain 2006 Estate Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains TIED FOR SECOND: Orchid - Lucienne 2006 Lone Oak Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
AND
Purple- David Bruce 2005 Reserve Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast		 TIED FOR SECOND:
Khaki - Segue Cellars 2007 Filligreen Vineyard Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley AND
Black - Sonoma Coast Vineyards 2005 Freestone Hills Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
Red- Left Edge Winery 2007 Bodega Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noit, Sonoma Coast Purple- David Bruce 2005 Reserve Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast Pumpkin- Brutacao Cellars 2006 Estate Bottled Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley Periwinkle- Claiborne & Churchill 2006 Twin Creeks Pinot Noir, Edna Valley

I love how I get to compare my pallate to the “official judges” pallates, and see the results. Looks like

Purple, Red, Coral, Khaki, Black & Periwinkle all ended up on both winners plates!

Thanks much to Affairs of the Vine for the invitation and the fun day!  I hope everyone goes out and buys Pinot.  There are great finds at every price point, and it’s a very versatile beast.

Happy Drinking!

Posted in: wine tasting.
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3 Comments

  1. Passionate About Pinot Noir Shootout Results | The Wine Evangelist says:
    April 14, 2009 at 5:31 pm

    [...] you haven’t checked out the LusciousLushes’ Blog. You must! Start by reading the commentary on the Passion for Pinot #7 Summit and become a [...]

    Reply
  2. Pink Bunny Ears»Blog Archive » Just a half a mile from the railroad track says:
    April 14, 2009 at 2:50 pm

    [...] of Pinot, Luscious Lush wrote a more technical review of the Pinot Summit than I did. As a matter of fact she did it with eight-by-ten colour glossy [...]

    Reply
  3. BrixChick_Liza says:
    April 13, 2009 at 5:14 pm

    Awesome write up! Makes me wish I was there! Will take your recommendations and recreate! Thanks!

    Reply

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