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...

[Bucko]

While I like Pinot Noir and Burgundy, they don't ring my chimes either. I'd rather reach for a CdP or Cotes du Rhone for the same complimentary food dishes. I guess the Burgundy fanatics are on a different plane than me, which is neither good or bad, just different. I still like the occasional grilled salmon with tarragon butter and a St. Innocent Pinot, but I'd rather have forty fart chicken with CdP.

[Drew]

Some men like blonds, and some like brunettes.

Some women like large biceps, and some like firm butts.

That's my take.

Drew

[winoweenie]

The Pinots and Burgandies in my cellar are my own personal answer to SWs'. When I need something to accompany a dish that calls for a white I break out a pinot. And like you, I occassionaly encounter one that rolls my socks up'n-down. I'm gettimng way too old to use what little concentrative powers I have left to find something hidden deep in the recesses of my flutin' glass I can rhapsodize over. WW

[ShortWiner]

"Forty fart chicken"?! [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/eek.gif[/img] Um, exactly which plane are you on, Bucko? [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]

[wondersofwine]

What can I tell you? I love Burgundies, especially, and very much like some California and Oregon Pinot Noirs. The best burgundies I've had have been grand cru tastings--aromatic, refined, subtle and still powerful, complex, with elegance and finesse, such as the Raphet 1999 Clos de Beze. One of my favorite premier cru burgundies was Arlaud's 1999 Morey-St-Denis Les Ruchots. On sale for under $50 I would prefer it to most California cabernets at that price point. And burgundies/pinot noirs are adaptable food wines. They aren't about sheer power--if power is your criteria, they aren't going to impress you. Still, it's hard for me to believe that someone would not be impressed with the two mentioned above or many others I have not had the opportunity to try. (Latest favorite, 2000 Meo-Camuzet Nuits-St.-Georges Murgers.)

[vinman]

Hello Stevebody!
Have asked myself why nearly one-half of my cellar is devoted to Pinot Noir and yet, I continue to buy more. Having no vineyards, I suspect that since I cannot make such a beguiling wine, I have to try my hand at seeking out the best red burgundy available to man. It seems as though the search is just as demanding as producing the wine! But, one thing is for certain, when I give a bottle of Pinot Noir to a friend and ask them to evaluate the wine, the comments are so interesting...very little agreement here, even among those familar with the varietal. So, I see your point. Hope you keep trying!

[Georgie]

Now back to that forty fart chicken....

[hotwine]

My mind has trouble grasping some concepts, and that's definitely one that I'm grateful to be missing out on.

[Bucko]

Forty fart chicken is a killer Rhone bistro chicken dish that Carole whips up. It has forty cloves of roasted garlic in a tomato and onion base (hence the name) that is a perfect match for Rhone wines. Keeps vampires away as well....... [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]