May 13: Cross-Vintage Pinot Noir Tasting, Napa

The Gandara tasting in Napa featured California and Oregon Pinot Noir in a unique cross-vintage comparative tasting.  The wines were all excellent and ratings varied widely.  However, the clear winners were the 2013 Hansel South Slope Pinot, with a total score of only 60 points ($39) and the 2014 Hansel in second place (thanks to Steve Smith for providing from his cellar).  There was consensus to obtain the 2013 for the CCSF cellar if possible.  The tasting was followed by a catered dinner of short ribs and further imbibing, which was enjoyed by all.

Here’s the tasting notes with voting results: 2017-05 Pinot Noir Cross Vintage Tasting Results

Here’s the ranking results by individual taster:

Here’s the lineup of the tasted wines showing the top ranked wine on the LEFT and the remaining wines shown in order from the left to right.

The hosts for the evening, David and Diane Gandara:

TASTING ANNOUNCEMENT

WHAT: Cross-Vintage Pinot Noir Tasting
WHEN: Saturday, May 13, 2017 6 P.M.
WHERE: The Gandara’s home
HOSTS: David and Diana Gandara

This single bottle tasting will feature California and Oregon Pinot Noir in a unique cross-vintage comparative tasting.  Four well recognized wineries will be represented, with back-to-back vintages of the each wine, thus creating an 8 bottle tasting (i.e. 2013 and 2014 vintages of the same 4 wines).

The objectives will be to both select your favorite of the 8 wines, as well as opining as to which of the wines are the same (albeit from different vintages).  The wines have been selected to offer possibilities for adding a Pinot Noir to the cellar.  Tasting will be followed by a catered dinner.

After the successful beta test at the April tasting, we will once again use the electronic voting system so remember to bring your smart devices!