Grand Brix
Yes, another horrible title for this entry. No word yet on when these titles will improve…100 monkeys can only type so many phrases, you know?
I read an interesting passage in the Haeger book on Pinot Noir. Chapter 6 discusses the specifics of producing wine from vine to bottle. With regard to the timing of the harvest, Haeger says that “Siduri is a notoriously late picker, especially at Pisoni.” This comment is interesting in the context of the chapter, in which Haeger talks about the connection between Brix, resulting pH, and alcohol levels. I thought back to the Siduri Pinot Noir that I tried because, well, it has a great reputation but I didn’t like it all that much. I mean, it was decent, but it didn’t seem as good as I had hoped.
So I started thinking: What if it’s the alcohol content? Since Siduri picks their grapes “notoriously late” from the Pisoni Vineyard, perhaps the resulting sugar/flavor balance isn’t quite right for my palate. Their Web site doesn’t list pH or alcohol content data for the 2001 that I drank, though.
However, I did some checking and discovered that 2003 Siduri (Pisoni Vineyard) clocks in at 15.22% alcohol. That’s a massively alcoholic Pinot Noir if you ask me…or, don’t ask me, ask Lynne Char Bennett of the San Francisco Chronicle. In her recent discussion of 32 different Sonoma Coast Pinot Noirs, she says that they “range from 13.5 percent to a high of 15.1 percent” alcohol. She also says higher alcohol content isn’t a bad thing because “the alcohol contributes to a fuller body,” to which I can attest after drinking a few Belgian beers.
Anyway, I looked up a few other Pinot Noirs that I like, such as Domaine Drouhin Laurène and Sea Smoke Botella/Southing. The Laurène clocks in at 14.1% alcohol, while the Sea Smokes clock in at 14.5% alcohol for both (the Botella has marginally more acid content than the Southing or Ten). While DDO and Sea Smoke both produce complex wines with many different aromas and flavors vying for attention, I consider the Laurène to have a fruitier, more subtle, more elegant taste, while the Sea Smoke wines are more powerful and muscular. But only by 0.4%, apparently.
The upshot is that I believe there is an upper limit to the amount of alcohol I like in my Pinot Noir. I think Siduri exceeded this threshold for me, but that’s certainly my own personal taste; it’s a good wine, just not my style I guess. I suppose this means I should look for a Pinot Noir with a relatively low alcohol content to see what I think of the flavor and mouthfeel.
Finally, on the topic of Brix, I noticed that one of my favorite local supermarkets is about to start carrying my favorite seasonal fruit: Pence Farm Peaches. Apparently, they’re also going to carry organic Frog Hollow Farm peaches as well. I sense a taste test brewing…interestingly, Frog Hollow has 12 different peach varieties that they farm. Wow, that’s a lot of peaches. If you can, I recommend buying some Pence Farm peaches over the next few weeks while they’re available. They are harvested by hand quite carefully and shipped in single-layer packages so the peaches won’t get bruised or moldy. Sounds like Pinot Noir winemaking applied to peach harvesting if you ask me.
POSTSCRIPT: I found this link to a more professional tasting of the 2001 Siduri Pisoni Pinot Noir with 7 other similar Pinot Noirs. Happily, their findings mesh with my “kirsch” note on this wine. They gave the Siduri 7th out of 8 wines and said it was too “hot,” meaning too much alcohol was present on the palate. Hallelujah! I’m getting better at this wine reviewing thing!