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Wines We Loved Ripeness and Rocks: New Pinots and Chardonnays Ive been tasting a lot of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. A few have been odd, most rather ordinary. As you might expect in a mixed-up economy their values have varied greatly. Two Chardonnays and two Pinot Noirs have jumped out right away as excellent values for the money. Patz & Hall: The Beauty of the 2007 Vintage Northern California winemakers and viticulturists are all agog over their wondrous 2007 vintage. Utterly perfect grapes came to the press. The first whites and lighter reds coming in taste perfectly balanced, their richness of fruit - and they are very rich in fruit - in perfect poise with sweet acids, and for the reds ripe and polished tannins. They seem less fat than the vaunted 97s but are in my opinion finer, and more faceted. Donald Patz dropped in last week. He is a discerning taster, which adds an imaginative dimension to the wines he makes with his three partners. His two basic 2007s shone with richness and poise. The Napa Chardonnay, from Carneros, Atlas Peak, and Oakville has richness and acidity with tantalizing hints of sweet spice, tropical fruit and stone fruits. It had me at first taste. The Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir was a bit more brooding, but quickly opened to cherry and plum in the nose with light, evocative wood and spice notes. Its rich fruit, also, was lifted by a refreshing acidity. Donald thinks that these are the two best basic county bottlings Patz & Hall have ever made. I am inclined to agree. You can drink now, but can keep both for 2 - 5 years. 2007 Patz & Hall Chardonnay Napa; Aroma: light fragrant, pretty very fine, good acidity; Mouth: ripe fleshy fullish, very fat, very balanced, light oak, very clean fine acidity, a touch of tropical fruit; Very Good Plus 34.99; Mixed Case, 31.49; Case, 29.74 2007 Patz & Hall Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast; Color: light red black; Aroma: fresh cherry plum with a light cola note, very assertive, fresh; Mouth: firm, dry clean nice structure, ample fruit, firm, clean light underlying acid, long finish; Very Good Plus 38.99; Mixed Case, 35.09; Case, 33.14 2007 Patz & Hall Mixed Case six bottles of each $377 Jackson Estate Camelot Highlands Chardonnay The Patz & Hall wines are for classicists. This is for hedonists. We dont offer Jess Jacksons basic Chardonnay, not through snobbism, although some might argue that point, but because we and you, we assume since youre reading this, want more individual character than a two-million -case product can offer. This Jackson Chardonnay is different. It is the crme de la crme from the highest altitude parts of the Camelot vineyard in Santa Maria. Less than 4,000 cases are made. I could taste the attention paid to it. it has the trademark Jackson tropical fruit, but is much more viscous and rich. the fruit is offset by notes of wood and barrel fermentation and a generous acidity in the background. It is marvelously complex and has earned critics plaudits. Robert Parker called it brilliant. The bottle I tasted had been open a day, which holds out the promise of a few years aging. Little came to the state . We have five cases. There will be no more. 2007 Jackson Highland Estates Chardonnay Camelot Highlands; Color: medium gold green; Aroma: very rich, , very oaky subdued tropical fruit, rich clean; Mouth: thick rather buttery, clean acidity, tropical fruit, firm caramel butterscotch; Very Good Plus 32.99; Mixed Case, 29.69; Case, 28.04 Five cases only And Rocks... 2006 Gachot-Monot Cote de Nuits Villages; Comblanchien and Corgoloin are just south of the Nuits st. Georges 1er cru Marechal and are the two southernmost towns making the savory Pinots of the Cote de Nuits. Their wines are offered as Cote de Nuits Villages. An unattractively industrial scattering of quarries and stone works on the N 74 (they provided the marble for the Paris Opera) obscure the vineyards They may diminish the towns images, but are testament to the minerality of their soils. Most Cote de Nuits Villages do not sing. The 2006 Gachot-Monot, from a small estate I had not known, was at minimum a trio of contralto fruit, wood, and spice. Although the sample I tasted had been carried for six hours from restaurant to restaurant around town, it was smooth, lighter but ample enough, and some soft Nuits spice. It was more composed and pleasurable than some negociant Nuits St. Georges that I had tasted over the last few weeks at half to two-thirds their prices. This is fine, expressive Pinot Noir at a very, very reasonable price. Arrives Thursday. 2006 Gachot-Monot Cote de Nuits Villages; Color: light red brown tint; Aroma: very aromatic, new oak very aromatic, smooth, floral & meaty; Mouth: smooth light clean racy, thick and smooth, bright acid, clean, good length and spice; Very Good Plus 26.99; Mixed Case, 24.29; Case, 22.94 |
