| Country: | United States |
| Regions: | California California (Sonoma County) |
| Winery: | Marimar Estate |
| Grape Type: | Pinot Noir |
| Vintage: | 2009 |
| Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
La Crema Fog Veil Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
A lush, earthy, and balanced Pinot Noir from select estate vineyards in California's famous Russian River Valley. This red wine opens with aromas of wild strawberry, blackberry, and cardamom. Flavors of boysenberry, raspberry, and sassafras with hints of baking spice. Soft tannins are balanced by vibrant acidity. This Red Wine has a Cork closure. Alcohol Content: 14.8% Pair with grilled filet mignon, bacon wrapped pork tenderloin and camembert. Aromas of wild strawberry, blackberry, and cardamom. Flavors of boysenberry, raspberry, and sassafras with hints of baking spice. Soft tannins are balanced by vibrant acidity.
Review:
Tremendous energy is conveyed through a guiding light of spiced cher- rywood and notes of tea leaves and flint. Rich and concentrated, with a hint of smoked cedar on the finish. The grapes come from neighboring estate vineyards in the Santa Rosa Plains region of the Russian River Valley.
-Tasting Panel 94 Points
Lady Hill Pinot Noir Willamette Valley is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
A combo of garnet to cardinal highlights the hues of this fruit forward Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Subtle floral hints of tea leaf and rose petal give way to a complexity of viney, brambled red and black fruit, wet moss and baking spices. A hint of savory jerky barrel nuance and turned earth contrast the freshness and vibrancy of boysenberry fruit. The finish is refined and juicy, as the elegant tannin structure builds into a crescendo of salivating acids built for food.
Pair with herb crusted pork loin, mushroom risotto drizzled with truffle oil, or a creamy textured Roucoulons cheese.
Laird Pinot Noir Ghost Ranch is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir
9 months in French Oak (60% new)
Vineyard workers have long reported seeing people between the rows and down by the creek, people who simply disappear when approached. Hence the name “Ghost Ranch”. This is our family’s seventh vintage of Pinot Noir.
Tasting Notes: With enticing garnet hues, that leads way to aromas of fresh raspberries, toasty oak, Bing cherries and baking spice. With a medium body and a balanced smooth palate that opens to distinct layers of wild strawberry, vanilla & sweet cherry compote.
Easily paired with a variety of cuisine including Pasta Puttanesca, cedar plank salmon or Paella.
Solomon Hills Estate Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Solomon Hills Pinot Noir is always distinctive and singular in its ability to harness the Coastal influence of Santa Maria Valley. Earth tones alongside briar bush and blueberries contrast aromas of forest floor and fired red clay. The noticeable savory elements of cracked black pepper and teriyaki beef nicely balance ripe cherries and blackberries on the palate.
Review:
I loved the bouquet of the 2021 Pinot Noir Solomon Hills, a light ruby-hued effort with perfumed darker cherry, mulberry, leafy herb, and smoked earth nuances. It's medium-bodied, has a layered, seamless texture, integrated tannins, and a gorgeous finish. It's absolutely brilliant. Enjoy bottles over the coming decade or more.
-Jeb Dunnuck 96 Points
Bass Phillips Estate Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
For this reviewer's money, BP's Estate Pinot offers the best bang for buck. While still a special occasion wine, it's almost as gorgeous as its elder siblings, and crafted for drinking younger. Ironically, it's also the one that takes longest to open up. But when it does, it billows aromas of dried cranberry, cherry preserves, umami-like mushrooms, cocktail bitters and potpourri. The palate is silky with a lift of crystalline acidity, wound ultra fine, talc-like tannins. An iron fist in a velvet glove, this is long and elegant, able to age another 5-7 years but drinking beautifully right now.
-Wine Enthusiast 95 Points
Maison Roy Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
The Willamette Valley Pinot Noir combines fruit from Roy's Dundee and Yamhill-Carlton estates. Gentle and suave, this Pinot offers inviting red fruit, baking spice, and a touch of purple floral tone. On the palate, a soft tannic structure makes this wine friendly and accessible in its youth and will keep drinking very well for the next 5-7years.
Marimar Estate La Masia Pinot Noir 2009 is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir
Don Miguel Vineyard
Russian River Valley AVA
The Vinification
The grapes were harvested August 30 - September 13. After minimal crushing, they fermented in stainless steel, with no whole clusters. The wine was aged in premium French oak barrels, 33% new, coopered by Remond, Rousseau, Marsannay, Mercurey and Marchive from the forest of Bertranges. It was bottled, unfined and unfiltered, in August 2010.
The Clones
The six clones planted in the vineyard’s 30 acres of Pinot Noir yield wines with complex layers of flavors. The blend of clones in this vintage is 22% Swan, 21% Pommard, 21% Cristina 88, 19% Dijon 115, 10% Dijon 667, and 7% Lee.
Tasting Notes
The aromas reflect the classic Russian River/Green Valley fruit: dark berries, sassafras, and a hint of orange peel. On the palate the wine has great concentration of flavors but it is supple and silky, with notes of clove and cinnamon plus a trace of peat and forest floor. Perfect balance and roundness that augur a long aging potential.
"Although this is tight, acidic and tannic, the core is so rich, it should easily negotiate the next 5–6 years in a good cellar. The texture is of pure silk, and the flavors are rich in cherry, pomegranate and spice. — S.H."
- Wine Enthusiast (December 31st 2012), 93 pts
The Marimar Estate
Exporting a Legacy To California
Nestled in the rolling hills of western Sonoma County, the Russian River/Green Valley appellation is a perfect microclimate for growing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Only 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean and 50 miles north of San Francisco, the site is influenced by the sea's cooling breezes and drifting fog. That is why Marimar Torres selected this privileged location to "export" the Torres family legacy of fine wines to California.
A Catalan Farmhouse-Winery
Built in 1992 with a capacity of 15,000 cases, the winery sits on a hill surrounded by vines. The production wing is outfitted with carefully selected equipment, to allow the control essential to producing a wine based on minimal handling. Its three barrel rooms with independent temperature and humidity controls provide flexibility to experiment with various vinification techniques, in order to best express the fruit's character.
The Marimar Vineyard
The Don Miguel Vineyard: A Unique Site
Marimar came to live in California in 1975. After two years of searching, she acquired the land and began planting the vineyard in 1986. Today there are 30 acres planted with Chardonnay and 30 with Pinot Noir. The wines are made entirely from estate-grown grapes. Named in honor of the late patriarch of the family, the vineyard is unique in California because it is totally European in style. The vines are trained very close to the ground on an open vertical trellis, following the slope of an east-facing hillside; the rootstocks are phylloxera resistant; and the planting density is 2000 vines per acre, four times more than is traditional in California. Such high density promotes root competition and diminishes vigor, naturally reducing the output per vine.
Yields are low and labor is intensive, but the vines live longer and produce grapes with greater concentration of flavors, more refined and elegant aromas, and better balance. To contribute complexity, Marimar did extensive research to select several clones of each varietal: See, Rued and Spring Mountain for Chardonnay; and Cristina 88, Swan, Pommard, Lee, Dijon 115 and Dijon 667 for Pinot Noir. Each clone brings different attributes to the final blend, resulting in wines with deep layers of flavor
Roland Champion Champagne Blanc de Blancs NV is aged for minimum 30 months (the minimum for NV is 15 months). This cuvee is made from 100% Chardonnay and is produced from the free run juice only. The current release is the result of the blend of the 2005, the 2006 and the 2007 vintage.
Fresh and delicate, its fine bubbles and wide range of aromas will be perfect as an aperitif. This Champagne will also match very well with seafood and shellfish.
dosage : 8 grams per liter
ageing : 30 months on laths
Even if it doesn't say on the label, 100% of the production is RD (Recently Disgorged)
Total Production for this Cuvée : 1,500 cases (9 liter equivalent) per year
Reviews:
"Golden yellow color. Lively, fruity, toasty leesy aromas of honeyed brioche and apple tart with a satiny, tangy, dry-yet-fruity medium body and a sleek, interesting, snappy lemon curd, nougat, and chalk finish with silky, soft, fruit tannins. A classic example of blanc de blanc champagne, delicious."
- Beverage Testing institute , 93 pts
"Spiced with ground anise and ginger accents, this offers notes of poached pear, lemon meringue pie, hazelnut and stony mineral. Very elegant and well-meshed throughout, with a silky finish. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 1,500 cases made. –AN"
- Wine Spectator 92 pts
"This cuvée made from 100% Chardonnay offers a fresh aromatic nose of light toast, dried yellow fruit and nuances of yeast. On the palate it has a creamy mouth feel of toasted nuts and rich autolytic notes. This is a beautiful wine, rich and complex."
International Wine review 92+ pts
"Small grower. Autumn fruits dominate the aromas of this wine, which is blatantly more like a wine than we normally expect a champagne to be. Some may find that unexpected and even off-putting, while others will find it intriguingly delicious."
- Washington Post - EXCELLENT
"Roland Champion is a small family-owned producer, now with the fourth generation, in the village of Chouilly (”shoo-ee”), which has only Grand Cru vineyards. Made from 100 percent chardonnay grapes, this Champagne offers ethereal grace and poise and harmony; if I were fighting a duel tonight, I would ask for this Champagne as my last beverage. The nose here is about the richness of warm biscuits and hazelnuts, dried fruit and spice, like a Platonic, ineffably light fruitcake; in the mouth, however, it’s about a structure that encompasses an incredible marriage of power and elegance, like the delicacy and strength of the finest bone china. And there’s something porcelain-like about this Champagne, in its notable crisp, lively character, its transparency and its slightly chalky, shale-like mineral elements. Forget the Champagnes that come on with heavy toasty, caramel qualities; here, instead, is a wealth of subtlety and nuance touched with a racy, dynamic edge. Exceptional."
Biggerthanyourhead.net
Roland Champion Champagne Brut Rose Grand Cru NV is the blend of 33% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Meunier and 33% Pinot Noir.
The Champagne rose shows an orange salmon color coming from the red wine base. The pinot meunier brings red fruit aromas of strawberry and raspberry with hints of spices. The palate is juicy and harmonious with good depth and minerality. A delicate balance between Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir.
It is a blend of 93% White juice (made from 33% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Meunier and 33% Pinot Noir) and 7% Pinot Noir red wine. The grapes used to produce the Coteaux Champenois red wine are coming from their vineyards near the Village of Verneuil.
Boizel Grand Vintage Brut is made from 50% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir.
BACKGROUND
In 1834 the Boizel House was established in Épernay, the heart of Champagne, by a family passionate about the wines of its region. Intimate knowledge of the Champagne region, passed on through the generations, and access to grapes from the finest cru sites, are the essential elements behind the Boizels’ elegant portfolio. Working with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir sourced only from Champagne’s most coveted Grands and Premiers Crus blended with the best crus of Pinot Meunier, Boizel’s intimate knowledge of each village and hillside coupled with longstanding grower relationships allows them the ability to select the finest quality grapes for their Champagnes.
TERROIR & VINTAGE NOTES
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes for the production of the Grand Vintage wines are sourced from Grands and Premiers Cru vineyards within the villages of La Montagne de Reims (Pinot Noir) and the Côte des Blancs (Chardonnay). Pinot Meunier is sourced from the best sites within the Vallée de la Marne.
All wines are aged sur lie in Boizel’s historic chalk cellars beneath the Avenue de Champagne for a minimum of 3 years, climbing to 15 years and above for the best vintages.
WINEMAKING & AGEING
A unique expression of the vintage, the Grand Vintage is only produced in the best years. This cuvée is a blend of 50% Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs (Mesnil sur Oger, Oger, Avize, Vertus) and 50% Pinot Noir from the Montagne de Reims (Mailly, Bisseuil, Chigny les Roses).
The wine was aged 8 months in stainless steel vats. Post second fermentation, the wine was aged for 8 years on its lees.
TASTING NOTES
Due to the long lees aging, almond, frangipane, candied orange and brioche aromas are rich and balanced. The palate is complex and mature, with the silky perlage supplying acidity and lift. Elegant pastry notes rounds out the finish.
Review:
Disgorged in October 2014, this smooth, now mature, wine has flavors of yeasty toastiness and a tight, mineral structure. Sliced apple and lemon zest still give freshness. Behind the fruit, crisp texture and a steely edge await. It is beautifully balanced, rich while dry and ready to drink. ROGER VOSS
-Wine Enthusiast 94 Points
Proidl Senftenberg Riesling Ried Ehrenfels 1er Cru Kremstal is made from 100 percent Riesling
A concentrated and dense, almost introverted wine made from perfect clusters. Constructed without any ornamentation or hastiness. For connoisseurs who like to leave the vinous beaten path and go exploring.
From a monopol vineyard
The physiologically fully ripened grapes are harvested by hand in several passes at the end of October and beginning of November. A portion of the grapes is destemmed and left on the skins for 10–12 hours of maceration. The leisurely fermentation with ambient yeasts in stainless steel promotes a multilayered expressivity. Bronzite, marble, paragneiss & amphibolite give the wine its great complexity and individuality. After fermentation, extended maturing on the lees in a large wooden cask before bottling at the end of August.
In Austrian wine, "1 ÖTW" refers to the "erste Lage" (first location) quality tier of the Österreichische Traditionsweingüter (ÖTW), an association of quality-focused wineries that classify their wines from single vineyards in specific regions, similar to German vineyard classifications. Wines labeled with "1 ÖTW" represent high-quality wines from a recognized single vineyard site within a participating ÖTW region, like Kamptal or Kremstal.
Review:
"This incredibly youthful and concentrated dry Riesling is a cool customer and needs a lot of aeration to reveal its great depths. Very delicate peach and apricot fruit with notes of chamomile and wild herbs. Really structured but also polished on the compact, medium-bodied palate. Extremely long, stony finish. Sustainable. Drink or hold. Screw cap."
- James Suckling (October 10th 2024), 97 pts