![\"pinot2017\"](\"http:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/P2012488-500x325.jpg\")
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This was the headline International Pinot Noir tasting at Pinot Noir 2017 in Wellington. In this session, rather than focus on New Zealand, it was time for the panellists to look further afield. Each of the four chose two wines that they felt represented greatness in Pinot Noir, and then explained their own views on greatness in wine. It was a meaty, intriguing session. We tasted them blind, knowing solely who had chosen the wines. These are my notes and scores as written blind. I didn\u2019t try to guess where the wines were from, and instead tried to focus on what was in the glass.<\/p>\n
![\"pinot](\"http:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/P2012495-500x278.jpg\")
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This was a really interesting selection.<\/p>\n
Chosen by Marcel Giesen<\/em><\/p>\n Marcel chose two of my favourite Californian producers. \u2018To me, these wines exemplify balance and purity,\u2019 says Marcel. I really liked both wines. \u2018You can hear the voice of the land, but you have to listen,\u2019 he observed. \u2018Power isn\u2019t size, it is like persistence, like wingrowers who don\u2019t give up.\u2019<\/p>\n Au Bon Climat Larmes de Grappe Pinot Noir 2005 Santa Rita Hills, California<\/strong> Domaine de La C\u00f4te Bloom\u2019s Field Pinot Noir 2014 Santa Rita Hills, California<\/strong> Chosen by Mike Bennie<\/em><\/p>\n Among other things, Mike talked about how fault finding is often at championship levels at Australian wine shows, yet in the evening the judges would drink classic European wines which displayed the sorts of faults that had been so soundly criticized during the day.<\/p>\n \u2018Quality is often a set of group-think principles,\u2019 Mike says, \u2018ignoring winemaker intent. I believe that there are some canons that need re-assessing.\u2019<\/p>\n Reputation and expectation both blinker assessments of quality. \u2018I want my wine unbalanced,\u2019 he added, pointing out that sometimes the edges in a wine provide interest.<\/p>\n He mentioned winemaker intent as an important attribute of the wine. \u2018How the wine gets to bottle is more important than subjective assessment.\u2019 Mike’s choices were thought provoking and smart.<\/p>\n Mythopia Illusion Pinot Noir 2013 Arbaz, Valais, Switzerland Mount Pleasant Mother Vine Pinot Noir 2014 Hunter Valley, Australia <\/p>\n Chosen by Ken Ohashi<\/em><\/p>\n The view of Pinot Noir quality I am about to present may strike you as somewhat different from what you are familiar with,\u2019 says Ken. He says that until recently Japan was quite a self-referential culture. Ken tried to explain the Japanese mindset. \u2018Great Pinot Noir is transparent with the best qualities of premium water: it is smooth with a completely clear aroma and taste.\u2019 According to Ken, transparency is the cornerstone of great Pinot Noir. \u2018It means the wine has a pure aroma and palate, a finish suited to the focus of harmonious aroma and palate, and a silent and understated sensation.\u2019 Ken\u2019s choices demonstrated this.<\/p>\n Timo Meyer Dr Meyer Pinot Noir 2014 Yarra Valley, Australia Meyer N\u00e4kel G Sp\u00e4tburgunder 2014 Ahr Valley, Germany Chosen by Jancis Robinson<\/em><\/p>\n Jancis began by noting that had this conference taken place in the last century there\u2019d be far more mention of Burgundy in a seminar like this. But the world of wine is a big one, and good Pinot is being made in many different locations these days. Some trivia: As a student Jancis drank a Chambolle Musigny Les Amoureuses 1959, and this was the wine that did it for her.<\/p>\n She pointed out that just 0.1% of the tasting notes on her website are on non-Burgundy Pinot Noirs that have scored over 18 (which is a very high JR score). This makes up 140 wines, of which 18 are from Oregon, 37 from Australia, 38 from California and 46 from New Zealand. Jancis\u2019 choices were, as you\u2019d expect, very good.<\/p>\n Mark Haisma Morey St Denis 1er Cru Les Chaffots 2013 Burgundy, France Tolpuddle Pinot Noir 2015 Coal River Valley, Tasmania This was the headline International Pinot Noir tasting at Pinot Noir 2017 in Wellington. In this session, rather than focus on New Zealand, it was time for the panellists to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[378],"class_list":["post-16864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pinot-noir","tag-pinot-noir"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16864"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16872,"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16864\/revisions\/16872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nSweet, supple, lovely refined red cherry fruit. Has a little development and a core of sweet fruit with real finesse. Supple, elegant and very smooth with fine-grained tannins. 94\/100<\/p>\n
\nFresh and detailed with fine, sappy red cherries and plums. Real elegance here with delicate, fine raspberry notes. Light and ethereal and really elegant. Lovely weight in the mouth. 95\/100<\/p>\n![\"OLYMPUS](\"http:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/P2012492-500x333.jpg\")
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\n<\/strong>Sweet, malty and a bit spicy with some earthy hints. Tastes quite natural with lively, slightly lifted acidity and some notes of tea leaves and herbs. Grippy tannins on the finish. Thought-provoking and natural, and flirting with funkiness. 91\/100<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Distinctive with a Ribena edge to the sweet cherry and plum fruit. Grippy unresolved tannins. Very direct fruit with a fresh but sweet jammy finish. A bit strange and very tannic. 90\/100<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Fresh and juicy with bright, sappy red cherry fruit and some herbal overtones. There\u2019s an elegance to this wine with a juicy, herb-tinged quality and some green tea in the background. Beguiling and delicious. 94\/100<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Forward, direct, fresh red cherry and raspberry notes here: lively and supple, with a bit of tannic grip as well as fresh, ethereal red fruits. Youthful and elegant with nice acidity, but also some tannic grip. Potential for development. 95\/100<\/p>\n![\"jancis](\"http:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/P2012504-500x344.jpg\")
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\n<\/strong>Fresh and detailed with a bit of lift and some cedar spice under the fresh red fruits. Very pretty, sweet red fruits here with freshness and a savoury twist. 92\/100<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Green and sappy with a sweet red fruit core and a lush liqueur like quality. Sweet and green at the same time. Sappy and bright with nice focus and an easy-drinking quality. 93\/100<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"