Cooper Mountain Vineyards Cooper Hill Pinot Noir
Cooper Hill Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2006
Region: Willamette Valley, Oregon
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Alcohol: 13%
Price: $27.99
Pinot Noir, long considered the impossible grape is the topic of this weeks wine review. I have been inspired to revisit Pinot Noir as when it is done right, can be heaven in a glass and when done incorrectly, can be a pure disaster. To me it is the thrill of the hunt for that special pinot that is so alluring. The example in question today is an organic, biodynamic one from Oregon more specifically the Willamette Valley which has been know to make some brilliant pinots. My fingers are crossed that this will be one of those.
Into of the glass, this wine looked a bit thin in the body even for a pinot, but showed a nice color with reddish – garnet hues. On the nose, there are some good earthy tones, sour berries (thinking unripened cherries) with a touch of heat, which at 13% is a bit on the concerning side. On the palate, this wine showed some nice acidity and crispness to it, with those sour berries coming through on the front, followed by a blunt force trauma finish with green tannins hammering the tongue. After some considerable time in the decanter, this wine let a bit of its edge off, but still lacked the depth to make it exciting. If a word could best describe it, it would be austere.
The verdict: A major letdown, considering its price and the terroir it represents. In the hunt for the ultimate pinot, the risks are great and so too can be the rewards. Unfortunately, this venture wasn’t as fruitful as hoped but at least we isolated one to avoid at your next wine market visit.
78 Points
- Cooper Mountain Vineyards Cooper Hill Pinot Noir
- by Adrian Bryksa
- Published on March 11th, 2009
- Rating:
- 78 Points
More from Adrian Bryksa:
-
O Restaurant & Lounge revisited
Calgary has a diverse set of urban communities, most of which have the ubiquitous strip mall watering hole. In the South West community of Marda Loop, a reinvention of this paradigm has been established.
-
Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
It isn’t every day that a new child comes into the world so to celebrate his birth, I decided to dust off a bottle from the cellar of one of my favorite wines.
-
Clos la Coutale
Since new world malbec are all the rage for their ripe, bold fruit forwardness, I thought it would be interesting to observe the differences between style and presentation from old to new.
-
Huber Grüner Veltliner Obere Steigen D.A.C.
This is an almost exclusive Austrian varietal that seems to fit in between Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc stylistically and sometimes exhibits some characteristics commonly found in Riesling. It sound like my kind of white.
-
Cooper Mountain Vineyards Cooper Hill Pinot Noir
I have been inspired to revisit Pinot Noir as when it is done right, can be heaven in a glass and when done incorrectly, can be a pure disaster. To me it is the thrill of the hunt for that special pinot that is so alluring.
-
2006 Pillar Box Red
Decant, decant, decant. I find myself talking about this more and more when it comes to red wines, especially new ones.
Other recent features:
-
Sónar 2010 – Barcelona, Spain
The festival attracts a lot of outsiders, but the Mediterranean, Spanish and more specifically Catalan nature of the people makes the festival what it is. Catalan people are passionate and this passion is infectious. The atmosphere is electric in Barcelona as a city and heightened by music and intoxicants at Sónar.
-
Summer Party Naval Styles at Seven RestoLounge
Oysters, like wine are affected by terroir and these Miyagi’s flavor profiles ranged with one showing a cleaner, almost tropical profile and the other being more salty, marine driven. As I was devouring the seemingly endless plates put in front of us, I sipped on a glass of fine sauvignon blanc.
-
R4NT Radio March 2010
R4NT Radio March 2010 um wow it’s been far too long since the last edition edition, featuring: Hector Hernandez, The Infesticons, Blockhead, Gramatik, Emika, Thunderheist, Parov Stelar, Eddy Meets Yannah, Anti-Pop Consortium, The Slew, Lighterthief, Andreya Triana, Parasyte Woman, Mathon, Venetian Snares, and Funki Porcini.
-
O Restaurant & Lounge revisited
Calgary has a diverse set of urban communities, most of which have the ubiquitous strip mall watering hole. In the South West community of Marda Loop, a reinvention of this paradigm has been established.
-
Predictions 2010.. and beyond!
So 2010 eh? Almost but not quite (no year zero they say) another decade? It seems like just yesterday that the world was waiting for Y2K. R4NT started publishing in March 2001, so we’re not quite 10 years old yet, but in internet years we are already a senior citizen.
-
Invictus
No matter what, the reality of Nelson Mandela is something that deserves screen time. Should this film even remotely intrigue the masses to take interest in this figure, the world would likely benefit greatly from it.
