This is my last post about wine I had in California. The theme was aged Pinot. Does Pinot get better with age? I’ll be in Spain soon, so I’ll probably be posting more on Instagram than on here and do a summary when I get back.
How long to age a wine is not an exact science. Much of it depends on personal preference and experience. I’ve had more experience drinking aged Bordeaux and Bordeaux blends from other countries like I shared in my last post, but I have far less experience drinking aged Pinot Noir. However, aged Burgundies are some of the most expensive and sought after wines in the world. Therefore, I continue to experiment with Pinot at different ages.
I haven’t had many Pinot Noirs much beyond 10 years of age. One reason is Pinot Noir already tends to be soft and elegant at a young age unlike Cabernet and other age worthy wines that need time to soften up. It can also have earthy flavors that often don’t show up in other types of reds until they are aged. The second reason is Pinot Noir is expensive, so I just have less bottles of Pinot to experiment with.
Lastly, Pinot Noir from some regions outside of Burgundy don’t have a reputation or proven track record of aging well beyond 10 years. Some New World Pinot Noirs (especially in warmer climates) lack acidity, which is a major factor for aging wines. Some don’t have the concentration and tannins, which can come from the varietal itself and oak aging, and some Pinots aren’t meant to be aged or given time in oak.
Theoretically, even though Pinot Noir can already be elegant and earthy, it can still gain more dried fruit, leather and tobacco notes one often gets from other types of aged reds.
As usual, in the name of science and wine education, I decided to try a few aged Pinot Noirs just before I left California. Two of them are California Pinots and the other is a Burgundy I’ve had in my cellar since it was released. I’m also adding notes from a White Burgundy we drank because it’s from the same region, and I had done a Chardonnay comparison not too long ago and wanted to keep experimenting with that. It’s also different enough from average White Burgundy that other wine geeks might want to give it a try.
Tasting Notes
2009 Volnay Clos des Chênes Bitouzet-Prieur 1er Cru
Like in Bordeaux, 2009 was a riper, hedonistic vintage in Burgundy but with aging potential. The appellation of Volnay in the Côte de Beaune is known for making a soft and elegant style of Pinot. At the same time, the early reviews said this wine needed some time because of its tannic structure. The producer is organic and uses classical vinification with native yeasts. 20% or less of new oak is used. They’re known for making age-worthy Burgundy.
Pretty nose of bright red fruit, soil, spice and floral notes. Elegant light texture dominated by ripe dark red fruit and spice with good acidity. Some soft tannic structure left. I can’t say any tertiary notes have emerged, but it seems it has softened up over the last 10+ years compared to early descriptions from critics while still retaining pretty primary fruit notes. 13.5% alcohol. Bought this for $38 on release. 92+
2008 Rhys Family Farm Vineyard San Mateo County Pinot Noir
Rhys is a favorite among wine geeks, which makes sense because the owner himself is a wine geek. Owner Kevin Harvey, who particularly loved Burgundy as a consumer, researched just about every aspect of the terroirs that make Burgundy special with the help of local contacts. He ended up investing around his home in the Santa Cruz Mountain AVA. Now he has 7 estate vineyards there and 1 in the Anderson Valley. As you can imagine, his wines are terroir-driven and low-intervention. The only additive is a bit of sulfur. The main changes they’ve made over the years is lowering the amount of whole cluster fermentation and new oak, which means the wines should be more approachable younger in the vintages coming from the past 8-10 years or so. They also micro-vinify, which means they only vinify 2 barrels at a time to control the quality. As a side note, Rhys also makes a line from non-estate fruit called Alesia and have started to grow Italian varietals like Nebbiolo in California under the label Aeris. I have a bottle of Aeris that I’ll probably post about in the future.
Darkest in color. This is the most savory of the Pinots tonight. Earthy, spicy and slight vegetal notes (from stems?), but there’s also dark red fruit. Silky texture. Medium plus acidity. Moderate but soft tannins. Fuller than the Burgundy. Nice balance of fruit and savory notes from the terroir and oak. On the second day, more of the fruit emerged. Only 12.6% alcohol. 92+
2004 Martinelli Blue Slide Ridge Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
The Martinelli Family have been growing grapes in Sonoma since the late 19th century. However, they typically sell most of their grapes to other vintners. Only about 10% of it is used for their own wines today. The Blue Slide Ridge Vineyard comes from the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA. It’s not uncommon to see their wines getting 90-95 points among critics.
Fruity ripe Pinot but verges on overripe, dry, raisiny fruit. Lowest acidity and by far the highest alcohol at 15% of all the Pinots tonight. A little spice, but it’s still rather one dimensional and hasn’t gained much complexity from the age having tasted similar level and styled Sonoma Pinot at a much younger age and after having read the descriptions of this wine from critics when it was young. The only tertiary note it has gained is that the fruit has developed a dried-fruit nature, but the secondary and primary notes have declined significantly. 90
2017 Domaine Guillemot-Michel Viré-Clessé “Quintaine”
From an up and coming appellation Viré-Clessé in the Macon region, so it’s a place to get quality White Burgundy for cheaper. Biodynamic producer. Nice dry Chardonnay with some minerality and medium, citrus acidity. However, it’s a little sweeter with honey notes than most white Burgundy and this must be because this producer intentionally allows botrytis, which other White Burgundy sometimes have but try to avoid. However, it comes in an unoaked style more similar to Chablis but with less acidity and more sweetness. Something to please beginners and wine geeks. It also has aging potential. 91
Conclusion
Overall, my conclusion is the Sonoma Pinot was probably past its prime. It hasn’t gained complexity while the fruit is more pruney than fresh and vibrant like it probably was when it was younger. California Pinots that are riper and more fruit driven decline earlier than more structured, terroir-driven Burgundy in my limited experience. It makes sense theoretically too. On the other hand, the Rhys drinks more like a Burgundy than most California Pinot. There’s more structure, more acidity and less alcohol while keeping elegance. However, I still need to experiment more. I’d be curious to try the Rhys and Burgundy when they’re the same age as Martinelli. Neither of them currently show any tertiary notes, so I wonder what they’ll be like in 5 years.
What is your experience with aging Pinot Noir? Please share in the comments.