November 16, 2008

2006 WesMar Pinot Noir


There are some wines that are just so refreshing and delicious that you never get sick of drinking them, and these two Pinot Noirs from WesMar fall into that category for me. I find that sometimes even though wines are well made and a good example of their varietal, after the first glass or two it's possible to not really want to drink more. This is definitely not the case here.

The WesMar name is a combination of the two owners, wife and husband Denise Mary Selyem and Kirk Wesley Hubbard. Denise is the daugher of Ed Selyem, and the couple worked at Williams Selyem until it was sold in 1997. In March of 2000, WesMar winery was started in an old apple processing warehouse in Sebastopol, CA. These wines are made with a focus on balance and aren't your super-extracted, candied alcoholic cocktails that have become all too common in California but instead showcase soaring aromatics and a refreshing flavor profile with snappy acids that make them great for the dinner table.

Aside from being well priced and very good, Denise and Kirk have some of the best customer service I've encountered. I originally planned to let these wines sleep for a while longer, but I received an email with a generous offer to mailing list members --- In part due to these economic times, WesMar was offering a number of free bottles depending on the size of your order. If you ordered a six pack, you'd receive one free bottle of their "sur lees" Pinot Noir. Order a case, and you'd receive three free bottles. That's the first I've heard of any winery with such and offer, and I was impressed. Now all I needed to do was open a few bottles of what I already had to determine if I'd like to order more.

Tasting Notes:

2006 WesMar Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir:
Translucent but not overly light strawberry color in the glass. The nose on this wine is very expressive with aromas of pure strawberry fruit, some interesting minty accents, and secondary notes of freshly tilled damp soil. On the palate are bright red fruit flavors, bordering on the lighter bodied side with fairly high acidity and a crisp, refreshing medium length finish that includes just a little tannin. The mouthfeel on this wine is all just silky bright fruit. This is definitely a wine I could not get sick of drinking, just so pure and refreshing... Showing well and this should have a nice long life ahead of it

Price: $35
Score: 91

2006 WesMar Russian River Valley Pinot Noir:
A little darker than the Sonoma Coast, showing a ruby colored robe, this wine seems a little closed right now. The nose is not giving much up but a little sneak preview of the potential with aromas reminiscent of brown sugar mixed with molasses, some spices that make me think of Christmas, and darker red fruits such as raspberry. While not as showy as the Sonoma, I can only hope the nose comes alive with time, and if it does I could get lost in those scents for hours. On the palate there is more weight, showing a medium bodied wine with great mouth coating texture and flavors of red fruits and spice that lead into a long finish.

Price: $35
Score: 90
Continued...