Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Pisoni Vineyards at Union Square Wines

I've been a little lax in updating lately but hopefully things will pick up…

That said, I also haven’t been taking as many notes as I normally would. Again, I’m hoping that turns around too…

However, I’ve still been drinking and have been to some pretty decent store tasting of late.
One recent visit (with our one year old tagging along no less) was at Union Square Wines where Gary Pisoni and his son Jeff were pouring wines made from their Santa Lucia Highlands grapes along with their own wines which are currently made by Jeff Pisoni.

I’m not the best at taking notes at events like this. For one, you taste so many wines and they often blur together. Also, it’s hard enough to fight through the lines to get a pour and the last thing you want to do is to find a spot to write down thought. Finally, the size of the pour at tastings like this are often small enough to get the essence but often not large enough to give a full expression.
All that said, below is a list of the wines tasted with what sparse notes I have.

Luli ’07 Chardonnay – “Peach and bracing acidity.”
Lucy ’08 Rose of Pinot Noir – “Very Good”
Lucia ’06 Pinot Noir
Lucia ’05 Pinot Noir ‘Gary’s Vineyard’
– “More character than the ‘06”
Pisoni ’06 Estate Pinot Noir – “A+ - clean and smooth”
Lucia ’05 Syrah Susan’s Hill Vineyard

Loring Wine Company ’05 Pinot Noir ‘Gary’s Vineyard’ – “Very good and a lot lighter in body and weight than other Loring’s I’ve had in the past.”
Lorca ’03 Pinot Noir ‘Pisoni Vineyard’
Capiaux ’06 Pinot Noir ‘Pisoni Vineyard’ – “One of my least favorite wines of the afternoon.”
Patz & Hall ’05 Pinot Noir ‘Pisoni Vineyard’ – “Another of my least favorites of the afternoon.”

A great tasting overall with the general impression that these wines were well made, in balance, and without the “heaft” that often mark the typical California Pinot Noir that I’ve been exposed to.

Like I said, these notes are less than helpful but there you have it anyway.