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New World Pretenders

By Peter | November 22, 2007

For many years I have been tasting New World Pinot Noirs trying to find wines that can give me as much pleasure as good Burgundy (and hopefully at a lower price). Whilst I haven’t tried many of the cult California Pinots, which are hard to find over here in the UK, I have covered a lot of ground. With a few exceptions – notably Calera, which we are listing, and Tarrawarra – I find that they just don’t hit that magical balance between sweetness and savoury character on the palate which is the icing on the cake. To be completely clear on this, for me the basic cake is a full and yet not overly alcoholic wine with proper balance between acidity, fruit and tannin, which is not over-oaked – and they’re not easy to find to start with !

However, keeping in mind the motto of Dr Lazarus in the wonderful Star Trek spoof ‘Galaxy Quest’ (Never give up, never surrender !), I recently tried a couple of top-end Pinot Noirs from the Americas : the Au Bon Climat “Isabelle Morgan” from California (ca £40) and the Cono Sur “Ocio” from Chile (ca £30). Both were impressively ripe and structured, but only one was well-balanced and enjoyable. It really did give the pleasure that a good burgundy can (albeit a modern styled one). The only downside is that it isn’t really much cheaper…..

The dove from above was :


2005 Viña Cono Sur Pinot Noir Ocio (Chile, Aconcagua, CasablancaValley)

Bright purplish ruby - no rim to speak of. Nice plummy fruit on the nose. A leathery, earthy, touch. Very classy. Beautifully lucid mouth entry - great transparency and a rich, bright, ripe, acidity. Medium/full plum and raspberry fruit. Just flows through to a big, long, finish. No excessive sweetness or alcohol. Really excellent today : should be superb in another 5 or 6 years. ****

Two New World Pinots - Ocio and ABCAnd the rasping raven was :


2004 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Isabelle Morgan (USA, California, Central Coast Santa Barbara County)

Dark ruby touched with garnet. Brash nose – stalky and meaty with dark cherry fruit, oak spice and obvious alcohol. Fine, but a bit aggressive – perhaps too young still? Mouth entry is full and spicy with sweet black fruit. Very dry and savoury on the mid-palate but with an alcoholic kick to it. The finish is firm and again a touch hot. **

Topics: Tasting Notes |

2 Responses to “New World Pretenders”

  1. There’s more to Pinot than Burgundy, but not much more | Says:
    March 29th, 2008 at 6:08 pm

    […] New World Pretenders […]

  2. 2006 - A patchy vintage : buy with caution… | Says:
    April 8th, 2008 at 10:30 am

    […] New World Pretenders […]

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