Barbeque season is here and ribs 'n pinot are back. Continuing where I left off last fall I once again dove back into Tasmanian pinot noir, this time a blinded comparison of a wine from Pipers Brook with a recommendation from Edward. The 2004 Pipers Brook Estate Pinot Noir was a lighter in hue and more "Burgundian" on the nose and palate, with aromas of mushrooms, undergrowth, cheese, raspberry toast, espresso grounds, and some floral notes. Velvety crisp and focused rasberry fruit were framed by dry, green tea tannins. I preferred the intriguing nose and focused palate, which my fellow tasters came around to over the course of the evening.
cork. 14% alcohol
Score: 17.5/20
Price: C$31 (SAQ)
The 2006 Bay of Fires Pinot Noir was a more modern-styled Pinot, and a competent one at that. Simple rasberry/blueberry, oaky vanilla, smoke and tobacco notes on the nose, it was soft, silky, lush, and dense on the palate. Very nice mouthfeel, but perhaps a touch too fruity and oaky for my taste. The younger of the two, this should benefit from a few more years in the cave.
cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 17/20
Price: C$39 (SAQ)
Both wines worked extremely well with succulent ribs in black bean sauce. Note that the Pipers Brook Estate showed much better than it did last fall - it is unlikely that eight months in my cellar could have resulted in such an improvement, so bottle-to-bottle variation is my best guess.
Thanks for the recommendation, Ed, though the motives are suspect...
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4 comments:
I've enjoyed some New Zealand pinot from time to time; will have to check out the links to learn more about these. The dish you had with it sounds good!
Hi David - I've had some NZ pinot as well, but not as many as I should have - they can be $$$ up here. Those ribs rock - have had a few requests for that recipe already (and Ed at WinoSapien has actually used it, with modifications...)
Joe,
My motives are pure, there must be some misunderstanding ;)
From what I recall, I thought the Bay of Fires was better on day 2, which augers well for medium term drinking.
Hi Ed, who am I to question your motives? ;) I totally agree that the Bay of Fires would benefit from cellar time, and that may explain the added complexity on the Pipers Brook. Very nice drinking though, I just found it a touch simpler.
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