We Poached some salmon last night and tried to pair it with a French red, to varying degrees of success.

First up: Domaine Faiveley Mercurey Domaine De La Croix Jacquelet, 2004

Pinot Noir. Very pale ruby color. Shy nose -almost nonexistent. Clearly something wrong on the palate - very very thin and acidic. Fiercely so -and bitter -especially on the finish. Undrinkable upon pouring, I decanted to see what would happen after a few hours. Nope. This wine was either flawed in some way, or is simply an unsuccessful effort. Disappointing.

Next: Michel Tête (domaine du Clos du Fief) Juliénas Vieilles Vignes 2006

Gamay. Better - Richer ruby color and a huge amount of strawberries wafting from the glass. A definite balsamic note coming through, along with a little clove, violet, and pencil shavings. Lean, with a strong acidic lift and ripe fruit - but missing a little something in the middle. It did fatten up with air-time and thus was much easier to enjoy with the fish. Thumbs up, and clearer the stronger wine of the two, but I almost wish I would’ve waited on this bottle.

~$32US, 80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay, Champagne, France

Sprightly, rich and toasty nose - one of those wines you could smell for hours. Very red-fruit-driven, strawberries and right-off-the-tree red apples. Fantastically appley on the palate, like a perfectly ripe Pink Lady apple - red apple sweetness initially, with green apple tartness on the back-end.  Weightier than expected from a Non-Vintage , with a fine chalky finish. Enjoy it with pretty much any food - I actually had fair luck with a Pan-seared Ribeye -  although the sweet potato fries loved it. One of those bottles that make you wonder why you don’t drink more Champagne.

~$15US, Gamay / Pinot Noir Blend, Cheverny, Loire Valley, France

Cheverny is one of the many unheralded appellations within the Loire Valley a.k.a. The Garden of France. By appellation law both red and white  wines must be blends - so the actual mix is here unknown, but Gamay Noir and Pino Noir are both in play - predominately Gamay.

After popping there was definitely some barnyard funk and a rustic edge, so I decided to decant to let things blow off. After about an hour, aromas were much more harmonious; obvious cherries and something like the smell of the forest right after a rain…damp and earthy. Home-grown, understated, but over-achieving, like a back-woods guitar prodigy that can play like the devil, but doesn’t realize it’s anything special.

A great food partner with medium-bodied cuisine - nothing too exotic and bold, and nothing too delicate. Grilled pork, salmon, simple pastas, and goat cheeses all would make easy friends.

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2 singular wines produced by 2 singular producers on different sides of the world. They actually had quite a bit in common - especially from a structural point-of-view (aside from their winemaker’s dedication to quality and uncommon passion_

Chateau Musar Blanc 1998, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon: Deep gold color. Fascinating nose of marzipan, honey and hazelnuts. Sherry-like. Dried strawberries, dates and figs with slight citrus and floral notes. Very round and mouth-coating entry - the nose really lets on that this will be sweet - but NO! It’s dry. It has a generous body, but the mouthwatering tart acidity that gives the wine focus. Lemon cake. It opened up beautifully after 6-10 hours, and showed very little disintegration after 24(!). Thought-provoking and totally versatile: from mac-n-cheese to mixed mezze to fish to pastilla to baklava. This wine transcends preconceptions like color/varietal/blend/terroir and just exists. It’s polarizing, but not to be missed.

Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir 2005, Sta. Rita Hills, California: Beautiful purple-tinged ruby; translucent, but rich. The nose is perfumed with ripe strawberries, red raspberries, and some muted but alluring star anise, sandalwood, and cinnamon. There is an unusual perception of big volume and perfect fruit ripeness immediately on the entry (almost sweet?!) - which transitions towards a very elegant and finessed midpalate and finish. Medium body with great acidity to pair with anything from a burger to simply prepared salmon. Very fine tannins. The tiny touch of minerality and discrete bitterness on the finish is characterful. A superb example of using the right wood. Attractive but not sexy, charismatic but still humble, and bright but not pedantic. The bottle was gone way before we were ready to say goodbye.

~$16 US, Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, California

“Value” Pinots are rare these days (especially from California) due to the finicky nature of actually growing the grapes, vinifying them honestly, the Sideways effect, etc. There seems to be a big price-rift with scads of mass-market efforts floating in the sub$15 range, then a big jump to the $35-50+ range for the serious single-vineyard designates / artisan producers. But every once in awhile a compelling wine lands in the $15-25 range - I tend to seek those out…

I was in the mood for something American for a change, and popped and poured. Saturated but medium-transparent ruby color. Strawberries and cinnamon on the nose, with ripe red-raspberry patch and some smoky undertones. Round and juicy palate - big, but showing balance with firm acidic lift. Integrated tannins = drinking great right now. The initial sweetness and body of the fruit transition towards a lighter, fresher midpalate, where the wine loses a little steam and gets a little spike of alcohol. It come back together for the long finish, where red rooibos tea components mix with mineral flavors.

The Bearboat shows very well for a $15 Pinot (be it RRV, Central Coast, Village Burgundy, NZ, or elsewhere) with its clean fruit-driven approach and how it maneuvers around problem areas like over-oaking, alcoholic bitterness, over-ripeness or an awkward finish. It’s a fuller-bodied Pinot that could pair easily with burgers of any sort, grilled chicken, pork bbq, or the traditional salmon. It may have a year or 2 of upside, but probably wont gain additional complexity, so why wait? A yummy weeknight red.

~$22US, 100% Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley Oregon

Brilliant and transparent deep rose red, with purplish tints. Very aromatically exciting and complex, with equal parts old- and new- world showing. Fresh strawberries, right from the patch, iron-like animal blood notes, warm rubber tires, secondary oriental spice box notes with clove and sandalwood. Strawberry and chocolate Quik Milk mix. Earthy and primal. Really some interesting-new-to-me flavors going on here…auspicious.

Lush and soft on the palate - really juicy and seductive. Perfect integration through the midpalate with silky tannins. The oak is fully married to the fruit, pulling through with spice elements. Strawberries and the whole strawberry patch for days. Definitely has an earthly old-world cloak around a core of perfectly ripened Oregon fruit. I applaud the fact that it is 13% ABV, but full of flavor and food friendly with medium-bodied. Some third tier floral notes arrive - chamomile. Medium-length finish. The acidity is good and balanced - only my personal preference for a tad more acidic bite would improve my overall impression.

This wine is absolutely is rocking right now, ready-to-drink, and I can see it staying strong for another 3-5 years. Very fine value to boot - in my opinion, more fun and easier to drink then my last Willamette Pinot. Kudos to the wine-maker for creating a striking, vibrant, and vital wine. Enjoy with roast duck.

~$30US, 100% Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills, California

Deep ruby in color. Mabe a hair darker than what I’d call “varietally correct”. Bursting with a signature Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir nose - Ripe raspberries, dried cherries and lychees, plus a little tomato skin. Some spiced vanilla notes eluding to some time in new oak barrels. Sexy mouthfeel - velvety, easy-drinking, and well-integrated for the most part, although a little aggressive oak and alcoholic heat peak out in the midpalate. Not the last word in complexity, but scrumptious fruit with fine tannins (ready-to-drink) and enough acidity to do well at the table with medium-bodied fare (veal, pork roasts and grilled white meats).

Overall, an exemplary Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir, produced by the man who pioneered the grape in said AVA. While the providence must be respected,  this is a casual wine - fun to drink and I’m certain that it would make both old Pinot fans and novices equally happy. Considering the other wines being made in the area, this stands out at it’s price point as a pretty good value - but for a tad more, you move into single-vineyard designates that may offer more individuality.

~$20US, Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley and Mendocino County

Not my style. Nothing wrong with being big and fuller-bodied, but this was fruit juice and alcohol.  No tannins, no acidity. Disappointing. Typical aromatics and okay mouthfeel, but some alcoholic bite on the backend killed it.  Over-oaked in the finish - Vanilla, and Mrs. Butterworth. Over time, oak became dominant and sugarfied. Sorry.

~$40US, 100% Pinot Noir, Fiddlestix vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills, California

Medium transparent ruby. Big boisterous brambly nose with cherry pie filling. Soft and viscous in the front of the palate, moving towards a taught acidity and some serious spice. Not alcoholic spice - more like a black-pepper spice. Fabulous balance and length. Fruit-driven, and not terribly complex, but totally intriguing as it progressed in the palate from bold to hot. With food? = absolutely - but I wouldn’t try to pair it with anything too spicy, as it could fight.

It showed better and more integrated with softened spices on day 3. Sta. Rita Hills Pinots have really gotten me back into this grape, despite all my efforts to avoid the hype. To my mind, they show the importance of proportionality when creating wines with more forward fruit characteristics than the benchmark Burgundies.

~$18US, 100% Pinot Noir, Central Coast California

A good contrast to the Brewer-Clifton tasted the night prior. Similarly light in color - definitely not one of those opaque and dense Pinot. This young wine was accessible on opening, but developed quite a bit over time . It began showing primary fruit notes of black cherry - then went through a “strange phase” @ 2-3 hours where it got funky and sweaty-socky (but not bad) - finally balancing out with strawberries and just perfect splash of acidity. The mouthfeel was satiny-smooth, with good length. Totally food friendly. I haven’t tasted a better Pinot Noir under $20. And at roughly 1/3 the price of the Brewer-Clifton, it delivered 2/3 of the quality.