jaimetown
DC area
Wine Bottler
Posts:3488
 | | 04/14/2008 4:41 PM |
| I admit I'm a little out of touch with California Pinot these days and haven't really read vintage recommendations pertaining to 2004-2006. Can the resident Ca Pinotphiles provide a little perspective as it pertains to the 2004-2006 vintages? I'm mostly interested in the Sonoma Coast/Anderson Valley/Russian River area. Thanks.
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Drew
Sammamish, WA
Wine Bottler
Posts:3182
| | 04/15/2008 3:40 AM |
| | Jaime, I haven't tried as many '06's at this point, but a gross generalization (from my experience) has been that the 04's are higher in alcohol content and a bit heavier overall than the 05's. My understanding of the '06's (Adam Lee posted on eBob at one point) was that the growing conditions were similar to 05, so he expected to take a lot of his experience from that vintage and make even better wine. Will see if I can find the thread and post a link. | | | |
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jason
Napa Valley
Wine Addict
Posts:6876
| | 04/15/2008 9:24 AM |
| | '05, '06, '04 - complete personal preference of course. | | | |
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tanglenet
Oakland, California
Wine Bottler
Posts:3199
| | 04/15/2008 11:23 AM |
| Posted By jason on 04/15/2008 9:24 AM
'05, '06, '04 - complete personal preference of course. Jason, can you expand a little bit? I'm terrible at comparing vintages as I don't taste enough of any one varietal to get a good feel for the differences between years. | |
TN posted on Cellartracker
"I drink no more than a sponge." François Rabelais
www.tanglenet.com | |
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Daniel Bailey
Grape Puncher
Posts:724
| | 04/15/2008 12:05 PM |
| | 04 was hot as a result many Pinots are quite big and showy. 05 flowering was a problem in some areas reducing yields. 05 was cooler and the wines are relatively more structured as a result. People claim the 05s will need longer cellaring to reach their potential. In 06 flowering wasn't a problem. Botrytis etc however was a problem in some vineyards so careful sorting was necessary (although quality producers always pay close attention to sorting). Buying Pinot by the vintage in California has never been something I've been overly concerned with - you can find high quality Pinots from any of these vintages or for that matter any California Pinot vintage (for example everyone lambastes 1998s but just try a One Acre or any Marcassin and you will be blown away). | | | |
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Drew
Sammamish, WA
Wine Bottler
Posts:3182
| | 04/15/2008 1:25 PM |
| FWIW, several threads discussing this
http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/showthread.php?t=166488 - short thread
http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/showthread.php?t=138493 - longer, but better | | | |
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jaimetown
DC area
Wine Bottler
Posts:3488
| | 04/15/2008 2:52 PM |
| Thanks everyone for chiming in. I have some 2004-2006s that I have largely left untouched and was starting to wonder in what order I should drink them. That bit about botrytis is quite interesting as I never heard about it with Pinots - the vintage style characteristic is helpful as I definitely have a preference. Dan, I'm not as concerned about producers as I have my favorites, but I suppose it helps in deciding whether I buy 1/2 case or a full one.
Drew, that second eBob thread is quite interesting. I especially like what the Pali winemaker had to say about ITB folks posting on the boards (post #123) - very true. It seems like there are a bunch of guys that fancy themselves as "experts" in one particular field - and there seems to be a quite a few of them on eBob! | | | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4858
| | 04/15/2008 7:00 PM |
| Posted By jaimetown on 04/15/2008 2:52 PM
was starting to wonder in what order I should drink them.
this is a much easier question! The 04s are drinking very well right now (better IMO that 03 or 05 at this point). Dan is right, it is a showy vintage and now is the time. | | | |
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Daniel Bailey
Grape Puncher
Posts:724
| | 04/15/2008 7:20 PM |
| Posted By Bob Bressler on 04/15/2008 7:00 PM Posted By jaimetown on 04/15/2008 2:52 PM
was starting to wonder in what order I should drink them.
this is a much easier question! The 04s are drinking very well right now (better IMO that 03 or 05 at this point). Dan is right, it is a showy vintage and now is the time.
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jason
Napa Valley
Wine Addict
Posts:6876
| | 04/15/2008 10:29 PM |
| Posted By tanglenet on 04/15/2008 11:23 AM Posted By jason on 04/15/2008 9:24 AM
'05, '06, '04 - complete personal preference of course. Jason, can you expand a little bit? I'm terrible at comparing vintages as I don't taste enough of any one varietal to get a good feel for the differences between years.
Pretty much what Dan said though I don't have the time to expand so nicely as he did. I like the structure of 2005, not the biggest fan of the "bigness" of '04, the '06 I have had already are lacking in structure compared to the '05 but have a wonderful core of fruit. | | | |
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tanglenet
Oakland, California
Wine Bottler
Posts:3199
| | 04/15/2008 11:16 PM |
| | Thanks to you both! | |
TN posted on Cellartracker
"I drink no more than a sponge." François Rabelais
www.tanglenet.com | |
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GreenDrazi
Atlanta, GA
Grape Puncher
Posts:938
| | 04/15/2008 11:29 PM |
| I think it’s tough to make broad generalizations about CA PN due to the variety of micro-climates, but we’ll give it a go. Good winemakers seemed to have made good wines in each of the vintages, so it really comes down to your preference.
2004
Dominated by red fruits, lush & voluptuous tannins, moderate acidity and high alcohol. A larger crop than ’03 and although also hot like ’03, the spikes weren’t as severe preventing the wines from becoming prunish or raisiny. Additionally, I think the winemakers learned a lot of lessons from ’03 that also helped. These wines generally drank great straight out of the gate and will probably cellar well, but not necessarily improve greatly.
2005
A cool vintage dominated by black fruits with soft tannins, high acidity and low alcohol.
It was a huge crop in many areas with too many vineyards over-cropping leading to wines being poorly structured, thin or even green. The vintage seemed to surprise many of the relatively new winemakers who had just learned to deal with 2 very hot years previous. More so than any recent vintage, these will benefit with cellar time. I’ve seen a lot of praise for this vintage from people focused too much, IMHO, on solely the acidity and alcohol levels.
2006
Still too early to tell since, typically, only the appellation wines have been released. It was a somewhat cool vintage (for CA) with the fruit seeming to be a good balance between red and black fruits, soft tannins, and moderate alcohol levels. It seems to be drinking well out of the gates though.
Of course, YMMV.
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Vine
Milwaukee, WI
Grape Fermenter
Posts:676
| | 04/15/2008 11:43 PM |
| Posted By Daniel Bailey on 04/15/2008 7:20 PM Posted By Bob Bressler on 04/15/2008 7:00 PM Posted By jaimetown on 04/15/2008 2:52 PM
was starting to wonder in what order I should drink them.
this is a much easier question! The 04s are drinking very well right now (better IMO that 03 or 05 at this point). Dan is right, it is a showy vintage and now is the time.
I agree with Bob: as a general rule I'd drink 04s first. Still imo re maturity estimates producer matters more than overall vintage characteristics. For example, regardless of overall vintage characteristics many producers of "big" pinots should have pull dates stamped on them like milk (or at least they should have drink by dates indicated like some beers).
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jason
Napa Valley
Wine Addict
Posts:6876
| | 04/16/2008 12:40 AM |
| | I have tried a ton of 2006 ava blend and single vineyards so I feel I can form my own opinion pretty well. I think acid, and non ridiculous alcohol levels in Pinot is a positive attribute as our wines that are actually fermented dry, though not the only reason I enjoy '05 and not '04 much. | | | |
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