Wine Tasting - Gran Moraine

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 Name: Gran Moraine Yamhill-Carlton

Location: Oregon
Grape Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2018
Price: ~$40

Wine Spectator Review
"Dynamic yet elegant and sleek, with refined cherry, dusky spice and crushed stone accents that take on richness and structure toward medium-grained tannins."

Wine Folly Flavors
Pinot Noir - Cherry, raspberry, mushroom, clove, hibiscus.
Overall: Dry, medium body, low tannins, medium-high acidity.

My Review
My first taste, right when the bottle was opened was a distinct oak flavor followed by what I could only really describe as citrus or orange peel. The sudden oak was a little off putting and the flavors seemed somewhat muted so I decanted the wine for about 30 minutes. Afterwards, the oakiness seemed to fade some and more of the red fruit came forward. Still, the pinot was significantly more earthy than I would have imagined. I've always associated pinot noir with being extremely fruit-forward so that was a bit of a curveball. Maybe this is more of a burgundy style pinot? It's aged in roughly 50% new French oak so maybe that is a clue towards it being a more old-world in style. Regardless, I look forward to trying a California pinot noir and also more burgundy later in the semester. Maybe then I can have a better feel for how the region and style impacts the pinot noir flavor. I also didn't have this with food so maybe I can try the next pinot with food or cheese as well to see how that impacts the flavor.




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