Still Desperate

[stevebody]

I don't want to crank up another huge debate but even with Brian Loring's wonderful generosity and my appreciation of his and Merry Edwards' lovely wines, I am still in the dark about what it is that makes people swoon about Pinots, especially the Oregons and Burgundies. NOBODY seems to offer anything beyond their complexity but that implies they're more complex than a great Cab or Barolo or Amarone, which is ludicrous. I'll check this topic from time to time and would appreciate anything anyone can say that isn't a recommendation to try yet another Pinot. I am NOT out to challenge anyone's tastes or to argue any points but my current appreciation of California Pinots elicits hoots of derision from my devout Oregon and Burgundy customers. I have been a chef for 30+ years, so I have a trained palate but I cannot, for the life of me, find anything different or terribly compelling about ANY Oregon Pinot I've ever tasted and only one Burgundy, a '98 Bouchard La Vigne De l'Enfant Jesu, which was sorta, uh, dazzling...but not more than 40 other Italians, Californians, and WA's that I've had.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated...