The 4th Annual Pinot Noir Shootout...
A Wine Challenge

Why another Pinot Noir Shootout? 
No wine seduces me like Pinot Noir. Yes, I enjoy and sometimes crave other wines...rich and well-balanced Chardonnay, crisp and refreshing Sauvignon Blanc, a full-bodied, complex Bordeaux or Cabernet with some age, or a brash and fruit Shiraz. But given my first love, or in answer to the questions, “What is you favorite wine?” and “If you could only have one wine for the rest of your life...” I can only respond emphatically, “PINOT NOIR!”

Pinot Noir is often described as being a difficult grape, to grow, to deal with in the winery, and to find truly great examples of, but fans (and I among them) are passionate about this variety, as sensually expressed by the dialogue between Miles and Maya in the 2004 movie "Sideways."

Maya asked Miles, “Why are you so into Pinot?”

Miles responds haltingly, “Uh, I don't know, I don't know. Um, it's a hard grape to grow, as you know. Right? It's uh, it's thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early. It's, you know, it's not a survivor like Cabernet, which can just grow anywhere and uh, thrive even when it's neglected. No, Pinot needs constant care and attention. You know? And in fact it can only grow in these really specific, little, tucked away corners of the world. And, and only the most patient and nurturing of growers can do it, really. Only somebody who really takes the time to understand Pinot's potential can then coax it into its fullest expression. Then, I mean, oh its flavors, they're just the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle and... ancient on the planet.” 

We realize that Miles is talking about himself as much as Pinot Noir.

In a way, Pinot lovers are adventurers on a quest, always seeking that next great and best ever Pinot Noir. They are willing to taste through a lot of wines to find it. Some may call us obsessed. So it was with our Pinot Noir panel...

Our panel tasted 247 wines. This year we added a new twist. We documented the male and female reactions and preferences separately to attempt to access whether men and women prefer different styles in Pinot Noir.

Complete results of the 4th Pinot Noir Shootout with comments by gender

Why would anyone want to taste that many Pinot Noirs?  You’d be surprised!  With some of our other panels, I have to contact people over and over and to get them to commit to joining us. With our Pinot Noir panel, I have a waiting list. Pinot is so elusive and inviting, constantly evolving in the bottle and the glass...and may I say again, sexy!

My fascination with Pinot Noir began so long ago it’s hard to remember what the songs were playing on the radio but I can still remember the experience – I was seduced. The nose drew me in...perfumed with deep fruit, rich, full and powerful. The flavors danced on my tongue and the satiny finish hooked me for life.

Great Pinot Noir creates a lasting impression on the palate. A supple and sexy wine, Pinot Noir, at its best, is luxuriously exquisite and elegant. Pinot Noir is the ultimate red wine for pairing with food. The celebrated red wines of the French district of Burgundy are Pinot Noir. The number of Pinots being produced world wide are mind boggling creating new wines to taste often.

Pinot Noir has multiple personalities making it an exciting wine to explore and a frustrating wine to produce. Pinot is complex and delicate, temperamental, fragile and difficult to grow, a challenging wine to ferment, finicky, silky and sexy,  and reflective of the Gout de Terroir (the flavor of the soil).
 

Producing great Pinot Noir is no easy task for even for the most accomplished of winemakers. Vineyard and clonal selection are critical. Pinot Noir is not only tolerant of cold climates but seems to thrive and be more complex when challenged by them. Difficulties plague Pinot Noir at every step from propagation through bottle aging. No single grape type is more temperamental or difficult to work with than Pinot Noir. Several top winemakers have turned prematurely gray attempting to coax the hidden beauty and potential from this finicky grape.

Unpredictable at times, my favorite Pinot Noirs are enchantingly seductive with intense aromas, complex flavors and long silky textures.

Pinot Noir lovers seem to have endless adjectives to describe the flavors and aromas of this intoxicating wine. Fruit flavors and aromas are varied including black cherry, raspberry, cranberry, fresh strawberry, strawberry jam, Bing cherry, black cherry, and blueberry.  In finer offerings look for rose petal, cinnamon, vanilla, anise, black pepper, and an array of assorted other spices.

Don't expect deep inky colors like you find in Cabernet Sauvignon. The color of Pinot Noir ranges from a light red almost rose to a deep garnet. Inhale the aromas, enjoy the flavors. Pinot Noir should be delicate with deliciously ripe, concentrated strawberry, raspberry, cherry or other berry flavors and can have barnyard overtones and luscious spices. It is difficult to describe all the flavors and styles of Pinot Noir.  It is estimated that there are more than 11,000 different clones world wide that produce a wide variety of styles from heavy, jammy, "in your face" wines, to light, delicate but complex wines and all possible combinations in between. If your glass of Pinot Noir is special, the mouth feel will be rich and silky if not outright velvety. Pinot Noir at its best is sexy; elegant, smooth and velvety on the tongue...satin sheets in a bottle.

Pinot Noir grapes grow exceptionally well in cooler climates where lower sugar, higher acids and lower pH's contribute to wines with great aging potential yet relative delicacy.

When drinking Pinot Noir, look for elegance. Enjoy the bouquet. The balance and the layers of flavor will envelop you. Let this sexy wine entice your senses! Let the wine caress your tongue! Experience Pinot Noir and you will be seduced!

There are many other wonderful wine varietals but I can't think of any other wine type which captures so many flavors, aromas, and sensations as Pinot Noir.

And if you like Pinot Noir alone, just try it will food!  Pinot Noir can be paired with fish, lamb, poultry, some game, and mushrooms. One of my favorite combinations is cool climate Pinot Noir and Wild Mushroom Ravioli. If anyone would like my recipe, I will be happy to share it. Email your request to winelover@affairsofthevine.com

Our panel is very fortunate indeed to have the opportunity to taste these wonderful wines and we are very cognizant of the fact that our conclusions matter and have impact, so we take our responsibility very seriously.

The incredible lineup of 247 top quality Pinot Noirs submitted from growing regions the world over were critically reviewed by a diverse panel of 24 wine professionals.

Affairs of the Vine and Wine Works orchestrated the 4th Annual Pinot Noir Shootout which followed on the heels of other highly acclaimed "Shootouts." The Pinot Noir Shootout judging panel included Wine Retailers: Aaron Luna - Oakville Grocery, Kristi Mohar - Fiesta Market, Dan Berman - Fiesta Market; Wine Writers: Alder Yarrow - Vinography.com, Barbara Drady - Affairs of the Vine, David P. Jones – Wineworks, Lynne Char Bennett - San Francisco Chronicle, Michele Ostrove - Wine Adventure Magazine, Pat Landee - Patty's Pinot Closet, Rusty Gaffney – Pinotfile, Tim Teichgraeber, Ziggy Eschliman - The Wine Gal; Winemaker: Anthony Austin; Wine Sales and Marketing: John Drady, Valerie Wathen, Celeste Wolf; Wine Educators & Consultants: Barbara Drady - Affairs of the Vine, David P. Jones – Wineworks, Edgar Vogt - Wineworks; Laura Ness, Sid Sall, Skip Hanson, Wineworks, Walter Vornbrock III; Sommeliers & Chefs: Ellen Landis, Landis Shores Oceanfront Inn, Ken Landis, Landis Shores Oceanfront Inn, Ann Walker, Ann Walker Catering, Pamela Busch, wine buyer, CAV Wine Bar.        
         
The process and manner utilized by Affairs of the Vine for assessing and judging entries is unique within competitions in that it employs the following procedures:

The tasting panels are comprised of a diverse range of wine industry professionals from varying disciplines including restaurant and retail trade, winemakers, wine writers, wine educators, and viticulturalists.

• All wines are tasted blind. (How could you ever do it differently?)
• All wines are tasted without reference to producer, appellation or price.
• Each wine is judged and reviewed on its own merit.
• The wines are rated using a 100 point scale. Copious notes are required and the notes and the ratings must have continuity or the scores are not recorded.
• For the Pinot Noir Shootout, The wines were placed into flights and evaluated by a team of judges over a period of three weeks. The top 66 wines selected were then submitted to the entire panel for review.

The wines worthy of note are reviewed here. They each get a numerical score and are recommended "from the heart with the additional reference of 's designating the following:

Key:

 = Love at First Sip

 = An Affair to Remember

 = Will Provide Fond Memories

At the completion of our finals, forty top rated wines participated in the Pinot Noir Summit on April 11, 2006. 137 lucky Pinot Noir Lovers gathered at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco to participate in a blind tasting of award winning Pinot Noirs, attend Pinot Noir workshops and meet the winemaker's. The delegates to the Pinot Noir Summit, seduced by Pinot Noir, indulged their passion.

They tasted forty luscious Pinot Noirs in The Final Showdown of this year's Pinot Noir Shootout. The wines were tasted totally blind and were assigned random colors for identification purposes. The wines could be tasted in any order to avoid any undue advantage to a particular wine or group of wines. The delegates pitted their palates against the expert panel's findings. The results as ranked by the wine judges and the Pinot Noir Lovers are detailed in the table below.

Please note that all of these wines are winners. All received
and cumulative scores of 90 or above by our judging panel.

Judge's Choice Award
Laetitia Vineyard & Winery 2004 Estate Pinot Noir,
Arroyo Grande Valley (94)
HOT PINK

2nd Place
Buena Vista 2004 Dijon Clone Ramal Vineyard Pinot Noir,
Carneros (93)
KHAKI
 AND
MacPhail Family Wines 2004 Pratt Vineyard Pinot Noir,
Sonoma Coast (93)
YELLOW-ORANGE
 AND
Row Eleven Wine Company 2003 Solomon Hills Pinot Noir,
Santa Maria Valley (93)
CORNFLOWER BLUE

3rd Place
Gary Farrell 2003 Rochioli-Allen Vineyards Pinot Noir,
Russian River Valley (92.5)
GREEN
 AND
Keller Estate 2003 La Cruz Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast (92.5)
YELLOW
 AND
Lost Canyon Winery 2004 Saralees Vineyard Pinot Noir,
Russian River Valley (92.5)
WHITE

4th Place
Artesa Winery 2004 Estate Pinot Noir, Carneros (92)
LIGHT BLUE
 AND
Bernardus 2004 Pinot Noir, Monterey County (92)
BURGUNDY
 AND
Casa de Caballos Vineyards 2004 Pinot Noir, Paso Robles (92)
DARK GREEN
 AND
Copeland Creek Vineyards 2002 Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast (92)
PURPLE
  AND
Davis Family Vineyards 2004 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley (92)
ORANGE
 AND
Hagafen Cellars 2004 Estate Bottled Pinot Noir, Napa Valley (92)
BRICK
 AND
Sonoma Coast Vineyards 2002 Bailey,Clary,Morelli Lane,Nunes Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast (92)
RED
 AND
Vision Cellars 2004 Pinot Noir, Sonoma County (92)
GOLD

5th Place
D'Argenzio Winery 2003 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley (91.5)
TURQUOISE
 AND
Halleck Vineyard 2004 Three Sons Cuvee Pinot Noir,
Russian River Valley (91.5)
GRAY
 AND
Reynolds Family Winery 2004 Pinot Noir, Los Carneros, Napa Valley (91.5)
BEIGE
 AND
Surprise Valley Ranch 2004 Shandel's Oppenlander Vineyard Pinot Noir, Mendocino County (91.5)
LIGHT YELLOW

6th Place
Annapolis Winery 2003 Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast (91)
MAGENTA
 AND
Balletto Vineyards 2004 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley (91)
NAVY BLUE
 AND
Derbes Wine 2003 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley (91)
DARK BLUE
 AND
Gary Farrell 2004 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley (91)
DEEP PURPLE
 AND
Lost Canyon Winery 2004 Dutton Ranch Morelli Lane Vineyard Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley (91)
WEDGEWOOD
 
7th Place
Burrell School Vineyards 2003 Veranda Vineyard Pinot Noir,
Santa Cruz Mountains (90.5)
CHARTREUSE
 AND
Carneros della Notte 2003 Pinot Noir, Los Carneros (90.5)
BLUE
 AND
Casa Barranca Wines 2004 Sanford & Benedict Pinot Noir,
Santa Rita Hills (90.5)
LIGHT PINK
 AND
De La Montanya 2004 Christine's Vineyard Pinot Noir,
Sonoma Coast (90.5)
DARK GRAY
 AND
La Crema Winery 2004 Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley (90.5)
VIOLET
AND
MacPhail Family Wines 2004 Frattey Shams Pinot Noir,
Anderson Valley (90.5)
DARK RED
 AND
Mahoney Vineyards 2003 Pinot Noir, Carneros (90.5)
GOLDENROD
 AND
Raye's Hill Vineyards & Winery 2002 Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley (90.5)
BLUE-GREEN

8th Place
Carneros Creek 2002 Pinot Noir, Carneros (90)
PINK
 AND
Fort Ross Vineyard & Winery 2002 Fort Ross Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast (90)
PEACH
 AND
Kilgour Estate 2004 Pinot Noir, Geelong Region/Bellarine Peninsula, Australia (90)
PUMPKIN
  AND
Landmark Vineyards 2003 Kastania Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast (90)
TAN
 AND
Mt. Hood Winery 2003 Pinot Noir, Columbia Gorge, Oregon (90)
BLACK
 AND
Namaste Vineyards 2004 Abundance Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley (90)
LIGHT GREEN
 AND
Nepenthe Wines 2004 Pinot Noir, Adelaide Hills, South Australia (90) BROWN
AND
Woodenhead Vintners 2003 Wiley Vineyard Pinot Noir,
Anderson Valley (90)
LILAC

Click here for the complete results of the 4th Annual Pinot Noir Shootout.

There were not huge differences in scores or impressions among our female and male panelists, but Oh!...then we polled our delegates at The Pinot Noir Summit by gender. There was a definitive gender split - men and women did not agree with each other or with the panel.

At the Pinot Noir Summit the forty wines were tasted blind and rated by the Summit attendees. The Wine Lovers who attended The Pinot Noir Summit voted for their top three wines in order of preference after tasting them blind. The wines were wrapped individually and identified by a random color. The male and female votes were tallied separately.

The Pinot Noir delegates agreed with the panel…the wines tasted were fantastic! The Summit delegates however, did not rank the wines in the same order.

The Male Pinot Noir Lovers top choice at The Pinot Summit on April 11, 2006 was Vision Cellars 2004 Pinot Noir, Sonoma County.

The Female Pinot Noir Lovers top choice at The Pinot Summit on April 11, 2006 was Carneros della Notte 2003 Pinot Noir, Los Carneros.

The Wine Lovers' Choice was not the first choice of the panel and the Judges' Choice wines were not the first choice of the Pinot Noir Summit wine lovers. What does that prove? Who's right? Who wins? Everybody!

For your review, the wines featured at The Pinot Noir Summit are listed alphabetically in the table below indicating the ranking by the Pinot Noir Shootout panel, the ranking by the male delegates and the female delegates.

The top rated wines overall were more balanced and elegant than in previous Pinot Noir Shootouts. It seems as if the style of Pinot Noir that wine lovers are embracing is more like traditional Pinot Noir and less like the burly, Syrah-like styles that have been popular over the last few years.

It is especially interesting to note that the women delegates at The Pinot Noir Summit leaned toward the Pinots that displayed finesse over structure.

The appellations of the winners include Anderson Valley; Arroyo Grande Valley; Carneros; Mendocino County; Monterey County; Napa Valley; Paso Robles; Russian River Valley; Santa Cruz Mountains; Santa Maria Valley; Santa Rita Hills; Sonoma Coast; Sonoma County;  Adelaide Hills, South Australia; Geelong Region/Bellarine Peninsula of Australia; and Willamette Valley and the Columbia Gorge of Oregon. The wines range in price from $20.00 to $60.00 per bottle.

So what do these wines have in common? Everyone one of these wines is outstanding!

Taste and enjoy them all if you're fortunate enough to have the opportunity. Pinot Noir has become very popular (thanks, in part, to the movie Sideways) so there are more folks asking about it and many more retailers paying lots of attention to our favorite varietal. Keep buying your old favorites but try new ones too. When you find a style you like, try other wines that are similar. Do you like this wine as much? See if you can determine the similarities in the wines you like best. Is it appellation? Winemaking style? Winemaker?

Hopefully, you have a retailer that can help to guide you. Let the wine shop know the Pinots you have enjoyed and the ones that have been less to your liking. A good retailer can help you make appropriate selections for your palate.

If you have difficulty finding them at your local retailer, feel free to email Affairs of the Vine. We will be happy to put you in touch with someone at the winery who can help you acquire the wines that entice you.

Our Mantra...Trust Your Own Palate
Read reviews but remember it's your palate that counts. Try to find a wine critic who commends wines that you like. Don't feel that you have to like the wines that wine critics praise. Don't be intimidated! If a movie reviewer gives 5 stars to a film, do you feel that you're unsophisticated if you don't like it too? Wine is no different. Personal preference is what counts. So drink and enjoy what you like. At Affairs of the Vine we say, "If you like the way it looks and you like the way it smells and you like the way it tastes...its good wine. So use our recommendations as a guide but you are the authority of what provides "Love at First Sip" for you.

If you see anything in these results which you think is of interest or noteworthy, we would love to hear from you and we will put as many comments up on our website as possible. And remember, trust your own palate. It's the only one that matters.

Check out the "Bang for Your Buck Pinot Noirs". Wines which were awardedor hearts and selling for under $18.

Begin an Affair with these great wines tonight!