Just after the Holiday season, we put together a small Pinot Noir challenge. Time to benchmark some of BC’s finest with Pinots from Burgundy and Oregon.
In 2016 we had the opportunity to tour Oregon wine country and we fell in love with the Dundee Hills wines – Travelling through Oregon Wine Country. We haven’t made it to Burgundy yet so it is still on my bucket list.
We picked several well known BC Pinot Noir for the comparison. As an interesting footnote, for a number of years, the Mirabel owners sold their Pinot Noir grapes primarily to Meyer Family Vineyards and to Foxtrot Vineyards.
Here is how the wines stacked up. Notice that the vintages span 2016 to 2018 so please take notice of the year and the price when you compare the scores. BC wines can definitely compete!
Domaine Drouhin Dundee Hills 2017 ($49)
Vineyard Notes
The 2018 season started on a slightly wet and cool note leading to late bud break but caught up quickly. After dry weather and occasional heat spikes in July and August, the end of summer brought comfortable temperatures, a little rainfall, and the perfect set up for harvest.
Winemaking Notes
Our Pinot Noir is handpicked into 25-pound totes, then hand sorted and de-stemmed in our four-level gravity-flow winery. Fermentations are long and careful and by November, all of our Pinot is safely in barrel. Our barrels are custom made in Burgundy, using oak from France’s best forests, allowing the character of the soil and vintage to show through.
Tasting Notes
The 2017 Dundee Hills offers a fragrant nose of bright black cherries, berry bramble, orange peel, and a touch of sweet oak. Layered behind are notes of red berries and rhubarb. Flavours of red plum, boysenberry and cassis mingle with a hint of white pepper and forest floor. Soft tannins with a medium-length finish. Elusive and elegant even though the alcohol weighs in at 14.1%. This wine is wonderful now but will excel with 5 – 12 years of cellaring. 94 points
Mirabel Pinot Noir 2016 ($49)
Alcohol 13.5% | pH 3.86 | TA 5.9 |RS 1.1
Rich magenta in colour, lively and vivid aromatics. The wine opens with a symphony of raspberry, floral aromas of rose petals and violets and damp earth. Flavours of both red and black fruit and a depth of earthiness and spice. The mouthfeel is polished initially, with juicy acidity and focused tannins on the finish that add gorgeous weight and complexity. 94 Points
This pinot was the closest to the rich and juicy Santa Barbara style that is my favourite.
Meyer McLean Creek Pinot Noir 2018 ($35)
Vineyard Notes
2018 was a difficult harvest in the Okanagan. Spring floods, dense smoke from summer wildfires and September rains brought many challenges.
Winemaker Notes
At the winery, the fruit was gently de-stemmed via gravity into small open-top fermenters and allowed to cold soak. After cold-soaking, an indigenous yeast fermentation began lasting two weeks and peaking at 32 degrees Celsius, with gentle hand plunging of the must done throughout. After a post-maceration period, the wine was transferred to 100% French oak barrels (25% new) where it remained for 11 months. A natural malolactic fermentation occurred in late spring. In keeping with our philosophy to maintain, as much as possible, a hands-off approach in the cellar to allow the true expression of terroir, this wine is unfined and unfiltered.
Alcohol 13.5% | pH3.68 |TA 6.3 gm/L|
Tasting Notes
This is a young pinot with potential. Aromas of black cherry and rose petals and lavender. Earthy flavours with sour cherry, raspberry, forest floor and a hint of white pepper. Lovely smooth tannins. The balance is perfect, the alcohol a typical old world 13.5%. There were plenty of “wine diamonds” in our bottle so please decant before pouring. 92 Points
For more Meyer Family Vineyards wines see – Meyer Family Vineyards – Top BC Wine Exporter.
Drouhin Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2018 ($29)
A cherry-red colour and delicious aromas of red fruit with a hint of earthiness. It’s a light interpretation of Burgundy with some black cherry, raspberry, strawberry and cranberry. There’s subtle oak present verging on a cedar note. A strong acidic backbone which makes for a very food-friendly wine with soft tannins. A good introductory Burgundy. 90 points