New Kid on the Block

Last night we opened a bottle of Pinot Noir from one of the many new boutique producers to hit the market in recent years. The one we tried was the Clos Pepe vineyard from Loring Wine Co. Brian Loring makes up to ten different single vineyard Pinot Noirs in any given year. These wines are all closed with stelvin screw caps. Now before you get the wrong impression, these wines are not bargain basement, they all retail in the $50 range. I have been wanting to try one of their wines since I first saw them several years ago and last night was the time. We had left over chicken and garlic sausage and mac & cheese. At first blush after cracking the seal the wine was kind of flat, but after about ten minutes in the glass the wine started to blossom and fill out. There was lots of rich black cherry and currant. This is a big pinot, kind of a hybrid of California (fruit) and Burgundy (body). One note; it is my feeling that red wines with screw caps are not a bad thing (no cork taint), however I have come to believe that they require special handling after being opened. Specifically, I feel they need time to breath because the seal is so complete with the screw cap, these wine do not get the opportunity to develop in the bottle as wines with natural cork do. This is a producer to watch, he has only been making wine for several years, but he has better than a dozen years of apprenticeship behind him. Just remember screw cap red wine needs air.