jamie goode's wine blog: Pinot Noir...yet again

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Pinot Noir...yet again

Continuing the Pinot theme, tonight I revisit California. In my trusty Riedel Burgundy glass (or should I use the rather pseudy term 'stem'?) I have a bright, supple, ripe Pinot Noir that hasn't been tricked around with too much and tastes as Pinot should. It's a bit of a suit of a wine: it could do with just a smidgeon more personality - maybe even a bit of wildness - but it's a nice drink that ticks most of the right boxes.

La Crema Pinot Noir 2005 Sonoma Coast, California
Quite a dark colour, but fortunately not too intense or inky. The nose shows quite sweet cherries, with a bit of spice. The palate has a lovely smoothness to it, with bright but seamless red fruits and a bit of spicy warmth in the background. Texturally, it's smooth without being heavy. It's ripe but not over-sweet. There's a bit of tannin to give balance to the fruit, and the alcohol is a sane 13.5%. Enjoyable stuff, and quite food compatible. Very good+ 89/100

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4 Comments:

At 10:25 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

In the mid-1980s Oddbins sourced some bankrupt stock of La Crema Pinot Noir and I bought quite a lot at £4.99/bottle. It was a delicious, well-made bottle, strong on raspberry fruit but with good balance. It lasted well over 10 years but didn't seem to alter much over that period. I'll check out the latest vintage on your recommendation
Martin Jones

 
At 4:07 PM, Blogger Jamie said...

I remember buying from Oddbins in the early 1990s. I wasn't so keen on it then, but I was just getting into wine and hadn't developed my palate much - subtlety would have been lost on me.

 
At 4:55 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, that's a gratuitous 89 score. Have had La Crema off and on since moving to Sonoma Valley and each wine, including the Pinot, fails to impress.

 
At 10:20 PM, Blogger Jamie said...

anon, gratuitous? Not intended to be. Maybe a little high, now you point it out. But it was quite nice. Much more agreeable than most Calif interpretations of Chardonnay.

 

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