Cornucopia 2009 - Pinot Noir

More tasting notes from Cornucopia 2009 in Whistler, and follow up from my article at www.vendormagazine.ca:

Pinot Noir

Sacchetto Pinot Rosa della Venezie IGT $19
A good-value frizzante with a sweet strawberry nose, creamy bubbles and a bright red cherry bite.

Joseph Faively “Paulée” Bourgogne AOC 2007 $23
Cherry, earth and green peppercorn with light tannins that sneak up on you on the finish. Great with food.

Blue Mountain Pinot Noir 2007 $30
Starts off with soft forward fruit like cherry and plum, with nicely spicy black pepper and cloves on the finish. Blue Mountain’s been making my favourite BC Pinots for years. Buy it at the winery and at private wine shops (if you can find it) otherwise you’ll be stuck paying double at your local restaurant.

Kim Crawford Pinot Noir 2007 $35
The first thing that’ll strike you is the colour – it’s pretty dark for a Pinot. The second is the nose – verrrry Central Otago. It’s fuller bodied with lots of cedar, spice, and velvety smooth plum and dried black cherry, and some light tannins.

Familia Schroeder “Saurus” Pinot Noir 2007 $22
As the story goes, construction workers unearthed dinosaur remains while building the winery in Patagonia, hence the name “Saurus”. Seriously, as far as brand stories go, is that a marketer’s dream, or what? Silky and easy to pair with a variety of dishes, there’s plenty of light, bright red fruit and berries, with a touch of spice and light tannins. At $22 it’s good value for the money.

Cono Sur “20 Barrels” Pinot Noir 2007 $30
A very New World Pinot with lots of darker, baked fruit, oaky spice and earth. There’s a good hit of acidity and medium tannins that dissipate on the finish. Pair it with chargrilled meats.

Yebby Lake Vineyard Pinot Noir 2006
Mmmmm, smells like a chalet with all that nice cedar wood. Lots of red berries and spice, but with a lighter nose and less fruit-forward in style than I would have expected from Australia. Love it when the Aussies show some restraint, especially in their lovely cooler climate offerings.

Cristom “Jessie Vineyard” Pinot Noir 2005 $65
If you were tasting this blind there’d be no doubt that it was New World, and in pinning it down more specifically, no doubt that it’s from Orgeon. Deep, dark, luscious fruit, and that hint of dill so often found in Oregonian Pinots give it away. This is a stunning wine, with a floral nose of violets, tobacco leaf and forest, with stems added in the winemaking process to increase the tannins. Check for it on your next cross-border read trip, where you won’t be paying BC’s 117% import tax.

Davis Bynum Pinot Noir 2005 $35
You can taste the sunny days they must have had in the Russian River Valley in the summer of ’05 in the silky smooth baked cherry pie flavours. The fruit starts off sweet and lush, but is followed up quickly by a bite of tannins.