Wine: 2007 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir Mount Carmel Vineyard
Region: California
Sokolin Price: $79.95/btl
Rating: 95+ RP
For this article, we decided to have a side-by-side tasting with two different wines but the same vintage and the same producer. We selected 2007 Pinot Noirs produced by Brewer-Clifton in California. Both cuvees come from very small productions with just over 1,000 cases produced.
There is an incredible amount of hype that surrounds the 2007 California Pinot Noirs. We are hearing from inside the trade as well as customers that this vintage is the best in bottle ever to come out of the region. Robert Parker tasted and doled out great reviews to the 2007 vintage, so we wanted to see for ourselves. Needless to say, it was a fun experiment, and the wines are definitely worthy of the hype and the points awarded by Robert Parker!
Before we get into the characteristics of the wines, one thing to mention is that these two bottles are sealed with a solid red wax capsule that is sleek and just plain cool (and their Chardonnay wines are sealed with a shimmery gold wax capsule). In this business, we sometimes are just as mesmerized by the labels and various bottle distinctions as we are by the wines!
So, how did the lower-priced, lower point Pinot Noir stack up against the higher-priced, higher point Mount Carmel Vineyard?
With a lighter ruby color, the nose of the Santa Rita Hills smelled of fresh strawberries, cranberries and bright red cherries with a hint of floral notes. On the palate it was medium bodied, slightly acidic in a positive way and loads of fruit. Surprisingly for the generic cuvee, it appears to need a little more time to age and balance out. It will be a surefire knock-out in the next few years. Racking up 93 points from Parker, this is a great wine for under $40 bucks. We assume this wine will just disappear, so if you are a Pinot Noir lover, this is a good wine to pick up now.
As for the Mount Carmel, it exhibited a much darker color than the Santa Rita Hills - it was a ruby/granite shade and was more intense, round, well-balanced and not quite as astringent as its counterpart. Typically you find the higher-end cuvees are a little more unapproachable, but we have found with great wines in superb vintages that sometimes the great wines are approachable immediately and still last for another 15 years. We consider this Pinot Noir to be on the same level as some of the great Pinot Noirs from the legendary Burgundy region. This wine is drinking well now and with a stellar 95+ points from Parker, it's a deal for $79.95/btl.
Winner of the Night - Mount Carmel. What the two did share in common was their long finish, great balanced fruit and brilliant clarity.
Our recommendation: WOW...2007 California Pinots are the best we have ever tasted. Load the boat before they are gone. Once again, we were reminded that tasting two different wines from the same vintage and same producer really does give a nice twist to your tasting experience! You should try it sometime with a handful of your friends. The Brewer-Clifton wines are great choice if you're looking to compare and contrast already similar wines. They have a nice selection of Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays.