Two weeks ago the Vinfolio staff gathered together for a blind tasting of Pinot Noirs from around the world. The Friday afternoon tasting was conducted with staff members providing wines from their own private cellars with the goal being to highlight different vintages and regions. Along with a few “ringer” bottles from well-known producers and excellent vintages, there were a few test bottles thrown in as well, including a bottle which had been stored improperly and was known to be flawed (the labels were removed to protect the producer’s identity). Occasionally the staff will do this in order to self-check our abilities to identify flaws.
Of the 12 brown-bagged wines we tasted, several bottles were universally panned (including the flawed one), and a handful were lauded as being standouts. In particular, the 2000 Brick House – Pinot Noir Willamette Valley was enjoyed by many members of the staff. Most importantly however, we had a wonderful time as a group, trying wines we hadn’t had before and comparing tasting notes and opinions.
If you’ve had any of the wines we’ve tried, or have recently tasted wines from the same regions in the same vintages, we’re interested in hearing your thoughts. Please post your responses in the comment section of this post as we’re always looking for suggestions for new wines to try and we plan on conducting similar tastings on a regular basis moving forward.
1. 2000 Brick House – Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, Oregon)
2. 2007 Becker Estate – Pinot Noir (Pfalz, Germany)
3. 2007 Coldstream Hills – Pinot Noir (Yarra Valley, Australia)
4. 1997 Unknown Producer - Nuits St Georges (Burgundy, France)
5. 2006 Woodenhead – Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley, California)
6. 2005 Unknown Producer - Givry 1er Cru (Burgundy, France)
7. 2007 Seven of Hearts – Pinot Noir (Dundee Hills, Oregon)
8. 1999 Williams Selyem – Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley, California)
9. 2006 Magnien, Michel - Chambolle-Musigny Les Sentiers 1er Cru (Burgundy, France)
10. 2007 Papapietro Perry - Pinot Noir Charles Vineyard (Anderson Valley, California)
11. Unnamed Flawed Bottle
12. 2005 Villaine, A et P de - Mercurey Les Montots (Burgundy, France)
