A Pinot and a Rhone

2002 Goldeneye Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
$49.99
Jen’s Notes

From the lovely folks at Duckhorn comes this fruit bomb of a Pinot. The Burgundies (made from the Pinot Noir grape) we tasted at K&L were anything but fruit-forward (See "A Whirwind Journey through Burgundy"). We’ve heard that the New World Pinots, however, are sometimes quite different; not merely forward but actually brash, saucy and, dare we say it, downright naughty. In the Goldeneye, Shane attributed this to the ripeness, even possibly over-ripeness of the grapes. I agree that the grapes used in the Goldeneye probably were more ripe than their Burgundian cousins, but I liked the wine anyway.

Immediately upon opening, the wine filled our immediate environs with the scent of strawberries – so sweet it might have been strawberry shortcake. The first sips echoed the nose perfectly; all I tasted were ripe strawberries. After things settled down a bit, I detected notes of earth, leather and spices underneath. The tannins were silky smooth and led into a long finish spiked with vanilla and caramel.

The flaw with this Pinot is that the flavors didn’t unfold like they did in the Burgundies. The flavors were certainly nice and balanced, nothing jarring or out of place, but they didn’t tease the palate with that shape-shifting quality possessed by Burgundies (While I still recommend the Goldeneye, this flaw combined with what he perceived to be an over-ripeness of the grapes was too much for Shane and he does not recommend this wine). To go back to the "naughty" analogy, Burgundies are a sly, old-school striptease, and the Goldeneye was more like a lapdance. Both are perfectly fine, but sometimes, you want a little subtlety.

2003 Domaine de Verquiere
Cotes du Rhone
$8.99
Jen’s Notes

We initiated our new Riedel "O" Syrah glasses (birthday present to Jen from Shane's folks) with this baby, and it was a lot of fun. This is a lighter-bodied Cotes du Rhone with lots of raspberry scents on the nose and big flavors of tart raspberry fruit on the palate. There were hints of cherries and black fruit in there, too, and smooth, subtle tannins underneath. The fruit flavors ripened and deepened in the glass, and finished clean. We both recommend the Domaine de Verquiere as a good wine for the price.