St James Wine Club at Castledermot Explores Pinot Noir

Last night I presented a range of Pinot Noir based wines to the St James' Wine Club in Casteldermot Co. Kildare. I love events like these for the very simple, and selfish, reasons that they give me a chance to learn both from the wines on show and from the wine club members themselves. Last night was no exception.

Castledermot is well worth stopping off at. This might seem strange as until quite recently thousands of us had no choice but to stop in it! That was before it was by-passed by a new highway. Now it's a very quiet place with a ton of history on show. How many towns can boast as having two fine Celtic stone crosses, round towers and magnificent 13th century abbey ruins all within strolling distance from its main street?

Abbots Cross at Castledermot from www.geograph.ie

 The venue last night was a magnificent old school classroom - high beamed ceiling and thick stone walls. My host asssured me that this was the very classroom he had attended as a nipper in short pants. I wonder what the nipper would have thought about as twenty eager wine club members invaded his space?

My theme came about as a result of a recent talk I gave on behalf of the Discover the Origin Campaign on the Wines of Burgundy. David Cope of the Londis Store in Castledermot heard me in Dublin and reckoned it was time for his wine club to look at Pinot Noir more closely. Good idea.

(Before I forget : I had a look along David's wine shelves last night. This may be Casteledermot but I can tell you you don't have to go any further than this Londis to find a genuinely interesting range of quality and value driven wines - Sparkling Shiraz or The Gaffer do it for me any day!)

We looked at the following last night:

Bouchard Ainé et Fils, Pinot Noir, 2009, Vin de France. (Cassidy Wines)
I have a lot of respect for Bouchard Aine and was not disappointed with this wine. That said Vin de France is such a very general appellation that Pinot Noir will not perform anywhere near its best from it. This, however, is a very good house wine for a restaurant where delicacy and a light touch are required. An excellent introduction to Pinot Noir for the group as it showed us light colouration, light tannins, good acidity, and a fine raspberry touch on the finish. Recommendation: This would have shown a lot better with a younger vintage.

Cono Sur, Pinot Noir, 2010, Valle Central, Chile. (Findlater Wine and Spirit Group)

To a large extent this can be considered as a 'table wine' from Chile - Central Valley fruit produced in volume and sold at an inexpensive price. Vibrancy all round with upfront raspberry tinged fruit. Classically light in colour, light tannins, good acidity and a very obvious bitter sweet twist on the palate. Really good drink with promises of what the grape is capable of.

Trapiche Reserva, Pinot Noir, 2010, Mendoza, Argentina. (Comans)

I love Argentina and its wines. I defy anyone who says that it is not capable of producing very fine wines. Read Vino Argentina! This particular wine was however out of synch with the rest of the tasting. On the one hand it tasted old fashioned with cherry and plum driven fruits that seem to have had a pampered upbringing by being grown a little too warm and then being transferred to post primary schools where vanilla and light butterscotch is preferred. No problems. This was really great in showing how important climate, site selection and history contribute to succesful Pinot Noir grapes being grown.

Saint Clair Family Estate, Vicars Choice, 2010, Marlborough, New Zealand (Findlater Wine and Spirit Group)

New Zealand (and Andrew Jefford) are both making very succesful claims on behalf of New Zealand Pinot Noir. I think the case has been succesfully made. New Zealand makes very fine Pinot Noir and if anyone can get to the tastings that the Central Otago Pinot Noir Ltd put on when they are in town then they will be rewarded with a fine selection of terroir driven wines. A Vicars Choice seemed like a good idea for the St. James Wine Club! Here's a wine that shows vitality and cleanliness and pure sumptious Pinot fruit where raspberry and a light spiciness tingle well. This is a wine that proves Pinot to be so well suited to a vibrant and modern lifestyle.

   

Errazuriz Estate Reserva, Pinot Noir, 2011, Valle de Aconcagua, Chile

I'm an Errazuriz fan. When chief wine maker Santiago Francisco arrives into Dublin to give his annual seminars  I make sure I have a front seat! Errazuriz is genuinely working hard to match vine-to-site-to-climate-to-style. This is just a great drink and shows Chile's potential with Pinot brilliantly. Light colouration with bright ruby against a light mahogany background; tremendous cherry and raspberry bouquet tinged with some earth elements; crisp and crunchy palate where bitter sweet twist mingles well with a lightly oaked spiciness. Can't go wrong there. New World rocking well. 

Joseph Drouhin, Nuits-St-Georges, 2005, Burgundy

Really exceptional. Medium depth with a lot of vigourous youth still showing on the pour. Bouquet is worth diving into, and staying in, for a long time. It gives an impression of being filled with very young red berry fruits and yet gamey expressions are beginning to lurk in the background. The palate here is rich and rounded and beginning to age. This makes it intriguing and seriously sensual. The point was well made with this wine that there are major differences between 'New World' Pinot Noir and those from established appellations in Burgundy. These differences are more than just stylistic ones - they are site related. This of course means that 'New World' Pinot Noir wines will emerge, and are emerging, that are every bit as good as their 'Old World' counterparts but ultimatley will always remain different! I hope so because I really do want to continue to show the magic of Burgundy through wines like this from Drouhin. 

The Wine Club also introduced the following wines last night:

Cono Sur Reserva Pinot Noir: Bigger and rounder than the basic Bicycle label above. Presonally I prefer the simpler style.

Viu Manent Secreto Pinot Noir: Have the impression this will do very well in the US - shows quite a broad palate. It received a very favourable reaction last night. 

Bouchard Aine Nuits-St-Georges 2001: Ageing gracefully and very well. Showed how Pinot ages and how this wine has aged. Light tawny; lots of developement on bouquet and palate. Fruit holds up well within an ample structure. Drinking well, can age for another five to eight years.