ATLANTA PINOT NOIR AND BBQ OFF-LINE - Rathburn's (11/17/2006)

All the Pinot flights were served single blind. We knew it was Cali PN and the vintage (except for a couple of them).

Starter Champagne

• 1996 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, Brut - France, Champagne
  A floral, pillowy nose. Soft, doughy, pastry flavors and light pear with a clear, clean, plush mousse. Slight fade on the finish. The general impression was like being wrapped in soft white down and linens. (91 pts.)
  

2005 California Pinot Noir
Served with lightly grilled Salmon in a light sauce.

• 2005 Siduri Pinot Noir Sonatera Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
  Rich, big, and Syrah like-nose that is slightly deceptive to the flavors of cassis and cherry on the palate. Full bodied with a polished and lively texture. Light and long finish. This edged out the Lucia Gary’s by one vote (6 vs 5 votes) for the WOTF. (90 pts.)
  
• 2005 Siduri Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills
  Sweet and big nose leading to raspberry and blackberry with a touch of light cinnamon, some vanilla and a touch of earth flavors. Slightly tannic and syrupy with a jumbled and dis-jointed mid-palate, this young, primary wine needs a lot of time to integrate. (88 pts.)
  
• 2005 Lucia Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Good, vibrant Pinot-funk aromatics. Fleshy black and red fruits and earth flavors along with a touch of orange citrus and light spice. Served slightly cool, the flavors continued to open up nicely the longer it was in the glass. Full bodied with a nice velvet texture leading to a light and bright finish. By far, the most traditional Pinot flavored wine of this flight. (91 pts.)
  

2002 California Pinot Noir
Served with an unusual but wonderful combination of Sea Scallop over BBQ Ox Tail

• 2002 Tantara Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Rich currants and tobacco on the nose. Superbly integrated dark cherry, blackberry and earthy flavors with great depth and vibrancy that just continued to broaden on the mid-palate. Good acidity and velveteen texture with a full and long finish. This was easily the WOTF (8qty 1st place and 2qty 2nd place votes) and also was the group’s WOTN. My only complaint is that our host gave away a good full glass of this to the chef – I still wanted more!! (94 pts.)
  
• 2002 DuMol Pinot Noir Finn - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Sweet, cherry candy nose that follows through on the palate along with a little rhubarb. Ripe and polished with low acidity, yet has some nice depth to it. Bright and long finish. (90 pts.)
  
• 2002 Hartford Court Pinot Noir Arrendell - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Nose was slightly subdued but still had excellent depth with currant, spice, and herbs. Flavors of concentrated dark cherry and herbs with a little vanilla streak, all the while showing complexity and depth. Good length on the finish. (94 pts.)
  
• 1999 Martinelli Pinot Noir Reserve Martinelli Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Placed in the ’02 flight (because it had no where else to go), this clearly had the most aged nose of the night with evidence that it’s past its peak, yet still floral with a fading edge. Extracted and well integrated flavors of black cherry and black berries along with oak spice. Smooth and fine texture. (90 pts.)
  
• 2002 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Kanzler - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
  Big, rich cherry and vanilla on the nose which follow through on the palate along with light oak spice flavors with a hint of citrus. Full palate with a nice texture and a little spice increasing on the good sized and very long finish. This got 8qty 2nd place votes for the flight - almost the same 8 that voted for the Tantara in 1st place. (91 pts.)
  

2004 California Pinot Noir
Part One of two flights.
Served with Smoked Shrimp over a sweet BBQ sauce.

• 2004 Siduri Pinot Noir Keefer Ranch Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Full, brooding Pinot funk nose with barnyard and underbrush that follows through on the palate along with black cherry and blackberry flavors wrapped in a nicely complex package that just continued to develop in the glass. Slightly tannic now with good acidity, this should evolve nicely for years. (92 pts.)
  
• 2004 Pisoni Pinot Noir Estate Pisoni Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Tremendous complex nose with a light textural quality. Flavors were predominately red fruit with strawberry and dark cherry dominating along with some earth notes. Has a nice attack and then broadens fully at mid-palate with ample acidity and wonderful depth leading to a long, spice infused and slightly hot finish. There’s a lot to enjoy with this wine – wish that I had more time with it. (93 pts.)
  
• 2004 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills
  Sweet nose of lush cherry and spice. Big, thick and concentrated cassis, cranberry and citrus along with hints of vanilla almost turning to chocolate on the powerful mid-palate. Polished tannins with a full finish. (92 pts.)
  
• 2004 Kistler Pinot Noir Kistler Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Lively and floral aromatics with cherry and a band of vanilla. Wonderfully complex bouquet of sweet cherry, pomegranate, anise, and cinnamon flavors. Full bodied with good acidity and a nice velveteen texture that builds to a long finish with just a trace of heat. This was the WOTF based on 5qty 2nd place votes breaking a 3-way tie for first. (94 pts.)
  

2004 California Pinot Noir
Part Two of two flights.
Served with a carnivores delight of BBQ beef, chicken, pork, and spare ribs.

• 2004 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Huge nose. Big, rich flavors of dark cherry, cinnamon and anise spice along with a touch of orange peel and some vanilla. A full bodied wine that builds on the palate leading to a full and long finish. (94 pts.)
  
• 2004 Saintsbury Pinot Noir Carolina Cuvee Brown Ranch - USA, California, North Coast, Carneros
  Well integrated flavors of cherry, anise spice, and light herbs. Wonderfully supple and velvet texture with a spice infused, long, lingering finish. Easily the most relaxed and balanced wine of the night, which is a surprise considering the small cuvee this was drawn from. This was the WOTF based on 2nd place votes breaking a tie for 1st place with the K-B RRV. (93 pts.)
  
• 2004 A.P. Vin Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Tremendous nose of earth and bright cherry with a little heat which follows through on the palate balanced with dark cherry and black cherry flavors. Nice tactile quality to the texture. (92 pts.)
  
• 2003 Bernard Dugat-Py Pommard Village Vieilles Vignes La Levriere - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard
  Good floral aromas, almost peppery. Well balanced flavours of cherry, light blackberry and minerals with some acidity. Seemed a bit thin at times on the palate. This was an ’03 vintage ringer tossed into the group. Little did we know that it was a Burg, but it seemed to fit right in with the pack. (92 pts.)
  

Dessert wines
Served with a wonderful assortment of chocolate desserts.
I was not taking detailed notes at this point.

• 1997 Château Tirecul La Gravière Monbazillac - France, Southwest France, Dordogne, Monbazillac
  Nice apricot and tropical flavors with a good bite and a long finish. (92 pts.)
  
• 1995 Château de la Genaiserie Coteaux du Layon Les Simonelles - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Coteaux du Layon
  Sweet light lemon flavors, but seemed a touch thin. (89 pts.)
  
• 1995 Château de la Genaiserie Coteaux du Layon La Roche - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Coteaux du Layon
  The only note I made here was buttery. Nice dessert wine. (91 pts.)
  

A little "this and that" for anyone still left standing

• 2005 Pisoni Pinot Noir/Syrah Blend Special Project - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  An experimental project to blend Pinot noir and Syrah. Seemed disjointed and a little flat. (83 pts.)
  
• 2005 Lucia Pinot Noir Lucy Rosé Santa Lucia Highlands - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Good floral nose with crisp, light strawberry flavors and plenty of acidity. (88 pts.)
  

Interesting tasting. I would never have imagined pinot w bbq.

It seems like the smoke and spices might war with the Pinots but it's hard to say without knowing the exact prep.

I wouldn’t have thought so either, but the person planning the event said it would work and it did. The chef knew we were having Pinot and he did a great job of making interesting BBQ sauces custom to each dish.

Also note that the ‘04 PN’s were saved for the heartier dishes.