Last night’s tasting was of Beaux Freres’ 2007 Pinot Noirs, plus another moderately priced ‘07 Willamette Valley Pinot as a control. Though young, the wines showed their different personalities well and were quite expressive; the tasting went really well as a result. Overall, lots of fun. I poured all four wines at the same time, and everyone really enjoyed being able to go back and forth between the wines
I decanted all wines through a Vinturi aerator at 3:30 and put them back into bottle (again through the Vinturi) at 5:30 for pouring; I wanted to open up the wines as much as possible, since Beaux Freres is known for being exceptionally tight in youth (due to their reductive winemaking techniques, which also makes them quite ageworthy).
The first wine was Klee’s ‘07 Pinot – it’s a nice Willamette Pinot for under $20, and I threw it into the tsating because a)you can’t have a tasting with just three wines; and b) it’s a great point of reference to have a less-expensive wine when you’re tasting a bunch of expensive wines; it helps to have a point of comparison for just what makes the expensive wines worth it (or not, as the case may be). Bright sour cherry fruit, good acidity, nice balance, a really pretty wine. It served its purpose well in highlighting the quality of the BF wines as well – going back to it after tasting the three other wines showcased a world of difference; the BFs are at an exponentially higher level, and the Klee seemed downright simple by comparison.
Beaux Freres 2007 Willamette Valley Pinot – sourced from their Upper Terrace and Beaux Freres VIneyards, along with a significant portion of fruit from the highly regarded Shea Vineyard and three other vineyards, the Willamette Valley is the most feminine and elegant of the three, yet still with great depth and structure. This wine had an appealing slight floral component, along with sweet strawberry, some brown spice, and high acidity. All three wines had pronounced acidity, actually – this will settle down and integrate in time; in a few years they will all be absolutely stunning. Long, smooth finish; great balance.
Beaux Freres 2007 Beaux Freres Vineyard Pinot – my favorite of the three for drinking right now. It had a really lush middle palate, with some notes of chocolate and brown sugar that were unique to this wine. Still noticeably tight and young, yet quite smooth. My allocation on this wine was a whopping six bottles; I sold three and we poured one, so I’ve only got two left. I think one might be headed for our personal cellar (along with a few of the Willamette; I was able to get better supply on that).
Beaux Freres 2007 Upper Terrace Vineyard Pinot – the Beaux Freres Vineyard was more of a Cotes de Beaune with its softness, while the Upper Terrace is more Cotes de Nuits. Brooding dark fruit and the most earthiness of the three, along with the acidity and structure common to all three. Over time this will ultimately be the best wine; even with decanting now it was very tightly wound. I’d love to taste this again in 6-8 years. Alas, my allocation was only two bottles – we opened one and I sold the other. I’ll see if I can get more.
In sum, Beaux Freres makes damn good Pinot; it was great to be able to experience them.