Navarro Vineyards
Methode Á L'Ancienne Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
Anderson Valley, North Coast, California, USA
2014 vintage. Half bottle. High-toned red fruit: pomegranate, crab apple, red currant, blood orange, red apple skin, dried herbs, dried red flowers, hibiscus, green tea.
2014 vintage. Half bottle. High-toned red fruit: pomegranate, crab apple, red currant, blood orange, red apple skin, dried herbs, dried red flowers, hibiscus, green tea.
Sep 25th, 2018
This pairing is in honor of my late hero Anthony Bourdain and of the (last ever?) G7 summit being held in Quebec City. I'm pairing this Cali Pinot noir (with rising tariffs in many foreign markets, buy it before prices escalate) with a little light reading for Trump's team on trade (Douglas Irwin is a star trade economist; this is his newly published 800-page history of US trade policy)
But enough pedantry - on, on to the wine: moderately extracted, purple in color, slightly cloudy. Raspberry and hedge notes in nose. Red berry, tutti frutti flavors with a hint of mint, later raspberry, cherry and blueberry, some seed tannins and barrel smoke in mouth. Moderate astringency and seed bitterness in finish. Light citric-lactic tartness in aftertaste. Give it time to open, complex in its crafting but tasty.
This pairing is in honor of my late hero Anthony Bourdain and of the (last ever?) G7 summit being held in Quebec City. I'm pairing this Cali Pinot noir (with rising tariffs in many foreign markets, buy it before prices escalate) with a little light reading for Trump's team on trade (Douglas Irwin is a star trade economist; this is his newly published 800-page history of US trade policy)
But enough pedantry - on, on to the wine: moderately extracted, purple in color, slightly cloudy. Raspberry and hedge notes in nose. Red berry, tutti frutti flavors with a hint of mint, later raspberry, cherry and blueberry, some seed tannins and barrel smoke in mouth. Moderate astringency and seed bitterness in finish. Light citric-lactic tartness in aftertaste. Give it time to open, complex in its crafting but tasty.
The "awakening" wine for me 15 vintages later. Still delivering the goods.
The "awakening" wine for me 15 vintages later. Still delivering the goods.
Oct 26th, 2016
Not our favorite of the case ...not that much flavor...balance a little off..a little sharp
Not our favorite of the case ...not that much flavor...balance a little off..a little sharp
Nov 20th, 2017Plush well-rounded elegance. Nice plummy red fruits with a hint of leather funk. Good finish to boot.
Plush well-rounded elegance. Nice plummy red fruits with a hint of leather funk. Good finish to boot.
Nov 19th, 2017
This is very good but reminds me of a great Zinfandel more than Pinot. Dark garnet in color (like a lighter Zin), juicy and delicious and hinting at some earthy complexity if allowed to age some. I could drink this all day, very enjoyable.
This is very good but reminds me of a great Zinfandel more than Pinot. Dark garnet in color (like a lighter Zin), juicy and delicious and hinting at some earthy complexity if allowed to age some. I could drink this all day, very enjoyable.
Jul 18th, 2017