The Dining Diva loves a good pinot and it appears she’s not alone. Check this
Pinot Noir lovers spoke out loud and clear at the 9th Annual Pinot Noir Summit. In an unmistakable statement of preference, they embraced wines of elegance and varietal authenticity rather than burly Syrah-like Pinots, the muscular Pinot Noirs made popular by a few influential reviewers and their publications.
Over 350 adventurous Pinot Noir lovers, seeking true splendor in the glass, experienced and evaluated 64 luscious Pinot Noirs in a blind tasting at the Pinot Noir Summit on February 26, 2011 at the Hilton San Francisco. The award-winning wines were selected by a professional panel in a series of blind tastings from a field of 367 wines. The wines at the Pinot Noir Summit represented the best of the best from this year’s Pinot Noir Shootout.
In a distinctly different format and atmosphere from other wine-tasting events, attendees blind taste the wines and pit their palates against the expert judging panel. The wines are divided into 2 groups of 32 wines each. Comparative results: White Group – Purple Group
The Shootout is the only competition where the judges’ conclusions are put to the test by an unbiased panel of wine lovers. All results and comments are gender specific.
9th Annual Pinot Summit Results:
Men:
First Place
Bouchaine 2008 Estate Pinot Noir, Napa Valley-Carneros
Second Place
McIntyre 2008 Estate Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
Third Place
DaVine Cellars 2007 Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains
Women:
First Place
Steele 2008 Bien Nacido Vineyards Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County
Second Place
Leveroni 2009 Seven Oaks Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Valley
Third Place
Portalupi 2008 Russell Family Ranch Pinot Noir, Paso Robles
Shootout Panel Results:
Men:
First Place
Chamisal 2008 Estate Pinot Noir San Luis Obispo, Edna Valley
Second Place
Lucienne 2007 Lone Oak Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
Third Place
Expression 39 2009 Annahal Vineyard Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley
AND
Woodworth 2008 Estate Pinot Noir, Temecula Valley
Women:
First Place
Mueller 2008 Emily’s Cuvee Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
Second Place
Coghlan 2009 Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
Third Place
Fess Parker 2008 Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County
Women delegates at the Pinot Noir Summit selected Pinots viewed as silky, elegant, velvety, and well-balanced by the female judges, wines displaying finesse over structure.
9th Pinot Noir Shootout and Summit Awards
Comments and scores by gender at AFFAIRS of the VINE by March 26th
Unique aspects of the PN Shootout:
- The most comprehensive and focused tasting of Pinot Noir in the U.S., utilizing an incredibly diverse panel of experts.
- Just 32 wines are tasted by the experts per day, allowing the judges to be completely immersed, focused and fair to the wines.
- There’s no palate fatigue as a factor.
- The wines are tasted completely blind without reference to appellation, vintage or price.
