Meats on the grill and Pinot vs. Pinot: Argentina vs. New Zealand With My Good Friend Carlos

The Pinot Noir grape has a reputation for being difficult to grow and even more difficult to produce into a great wine. Since I’ve never had the chance to grow or make a Pinot, I can only go by the variability in the quality of Pinot Noir at certain price points. Across the board Pinot Noir’s are the most unpredictable wines when it comes to quality and value. Generally speaking, you have to spend two to three times more than you would for any other wine to get a good Pinot Noir.

With this in mind, Kim and I invited our friend Carlos (pictured above with Kimmy, and his leg is pictured next to the food below!) to come over, sit outside on the gravel that is our patio under renovations, and drink a few Pinots in the blind format. We wanted to evaluate the wines on their own, as well as with a variety of foods. I fired up the grill and threw on some lamb rib chops, a porterhouse steak, and a spicy marinated duck breast, as well as sides of pancetta-wrapped asparagus and spicy marinated eggplant. Overall the food went well with all three wines.

Our tasting began with a bottle of 2007 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Rose, which is around $24 and available by mailing list only. We’ve had it before and were just looking for something to stimulate our palates. The wine has a lot of fresh berry flavors and good acidity, making it a nice way to start any warm night behind a grill!

As the foods came off the grill, we tried each of the Pinot Noirs in the lineup. In one corner, we have Argentine Pinot Noir. Coming to us from South America, more specifically . The owner/operator of the vineyard is non other than the daughter of Nocholas Catena, Laura Catena. Nicholas Catena is known for his Bodega Catena Zapata wines which are one of the most recognizable names in the Argentinian wine industry. Laura, now on her own, is putting out a variety of wines under her Luca Winery label. The wine we poured was her 2006 Luca Winery Pinot Noir Altos de Mendoza ($24). The vineyard, by the way, is owned and operated by Laura Catena, daughter of Nicholas Catena (of the famous Bodega Catena Zapata vineyards) who is on her own in Mendoza trying to make a name for herself.

In a supporting role, we also poured a 2006 Trapiste Oak Cask Pinot Noir ($12). Trapiste is another big name among the many world renown Aregntinian wineries. They make some OK to good Malbecs that a lot of people enjoy but I’ve found to be a bit too extracted and oaky.

The main contender from Argentina:
Luca Pinot Noir 2006
Varietal Composition: 100% Pinot Noir
Vineyard Locations: Gualtallary (Tupungato)
Avg. Vineyard Elev.: 4,710 feet
Avg. Age of Vines: 14 years
Rootstock: Ungrafted
Harvest Method: Hand-harvested
Press Handling: No press wine
Oak Regimen: 12 months in 60% new French and 40% second-use French barriques
Fining: None
Filtration: None
Alcohol: 13.9%
pH: 3.68
T.A. 5.4
Total Case Production: 400 cases

VERSUS:

The Contender from New Zealand:

Sherwood estates is a well known producer in New Zealand. They put out some good wines at many price points, of which are normally good value wines. For our tasting, we chose the 2007 Sherwood Estate Pinot Noir ($14) which comes from their Sandy Creek vineyard, as well as other select parcels throughout Marlborough.
“The fruit was harvested between the 4th and 20th of April in excellent condition. Upon arrival at the winery the fruit was de-stemmed and gently tipped into open top fermenters. Yeast was added to initiate the ferment after a five day “soak” period. The cap was hand plunged three times a day and the juice spent an average of 16 days “on skins”. Malolactic fermentation and oak maturation for two months was completed prior to blending, fining and bottling.
Analysis at Bottling
13.0% Alcohol
5.5 g/l TA
3.48 pH”

Wine #1: The first wine we tasted had great depth and good concentration of flavors. There was a nice earthy component combined with some cherry cola and vanilla flavors. We all agreed that there was good balance to this wine, meaning the alcohol, tannins and fruit all went together quite nicely. A great start to our tasting and what I consider a 90 pt wine.

Wine #2 was a bit “hot”, meaning alcohol levels were high on the nose and palate. The wine had ripe fruit flavors, but was a bit too acidic and off-balance. This was a big letdown considering our great start. Drinkable, but nothing to write home about. I gave this 82 pts.

Wine #3 brought back some hope for a great battle, but it just fell short. There was a very noticable eucalyptus component to the nose, and cherry, pepper and bacon fat flavors that were interesting, but again the alcohol on the palate was overwhelming and the wine never really came together properly. I gave this wine 86 pts.

• Wine #1- Luca Winery Pinot Noir (Argentina) - 90 pts
• Wine #2 - Trapiche Oak Cask Pinot Noir (Argentina) - 82 pts
• Wine #3 - Sherwood Winery Pinot Noir (New Zealand) - 86 pts

In the end, we were very impressed with the Luca Winery Pinot Noir, thought the Sherwood was a good value, and would definitely pass on the Trapiche (See complete tasting notes at the bottom of the page). I predict very great Pinot Noir coming out of Argentina in the next few years. Carlos informed me that on his recent trip to Argentina, there was an explosion of small production Pinot Noir vineyards that are just now becoming quite a big deal throughout the country. It’s definitely an area to keep an eye on if you’re a Pinot Noir fan.

All in all it was a fun night with good food, good wine, and great company. I highly recommend trying this with some friends- it’s a great learning experience and the best way to learn about different styles of wines from differnt regions. We really had a great time and look forward to future mini-tastings! (especially Raja, who laid under the table the whole time we were eating as I kept sneaking him bites of meat!)

2006 Luca Winery Pinot Noir Altos de Mendoza -$28: Wow. Argentina Pinot?? Cherry cola notes, vanilla, serious cherry, great depth, serious complexity and overall, a great Pinot and good value. Heat on the nose that blows off. This is really a well rounded Pinot, new world style, quite enjoyable and will appeal to many people. Good structure and body. My rating: 90 pts, VGV

2006 Trapiche Oak Cask Pinot Noir: -$12: Some cherry, oaky vanilla, very “hot”, off-balance, mineral notes. My rating: 82 pts,PV

2007 Sherwood Estate Pinot Noir -$11 (New Zealand, Marlbourogh): Cherry, raspberry a touch of heat, hot leather, bacon fat, black pepper. Nose of eucaplytus/menthol, heat is a bit high but not too bad on the palate. Overall very drinkable, but a bit off balance. My rating: 86 pts, GV