Friday, August 8, 2008

Pizza Pinot Tuesday

What can be better than Pizza, Pinot Noir and good friends in the back yard on a very comfortable early August evening in NYC? Our 'first Tuesday' group did a pot-luck Pinot themed dinner, and a great time was had by all. 10 Cali Pinots, 1 Riesling and lots of food. We had four varieties of pizza (or is it varietal?): Provolone and sauce, a white pie of 3 cheeses, an Italian pie with a few types of dried Italian sausage (pictured), and a shrimp pie. Potluck never had it so good.

Since I was busy throwing pizza dough 30 to 40 feet into the New York City sky I only really had time for a few impressions myself.

2004 Seasmoke Botella- a fantastic and very pretty floral nose. Nice medium color. a seemless balance of pure red fruits and a wonderful mouthfeel made the the very early winner for me. Elegance nd style. Such a beautiful wine, I can understand why it dissapears from sight the moment the offering rolls around. 93

2005 KB Amber Ridge - Big and powerful. I brought this and I remember why. Its just pure joy in a bottle. Nicely structured and long on the finish. Great dark fruits and pure pinot satisfaction (for a cab drinker). 92

2004 Joseph James - Steve brought this small production beauty. Great dark color with a very pretty nose of flowers and wet stones. nice red raspberries on the palate. as well as the previously mentioned stones. Nice structure and lenght. Easily in my top 3. 91

2004 Thin Air (blind)- Abe Schoener- I should have guessed this one as I knew Cheryl had it squirrelled away for the right moment. light in color. Scratch that: Very light in color. cloudy and full bodied, this is exactly like it was 2 years ago when I first tasted it. I was a wise ass and guessed a New Zealand Pinot, as If I should have a clue... 89