

june 30, 2009: victoria had the day off, and after a day of mostly removing wallpaper, she decided to prepare a balsamic/garlic reduction that served as a glaze for broiled chicken. see recipe here: http://www.circleoffood.com/blog/2007/04/20/chickenrecipes-winepairing/ she bought the frei brothers, russian river valley, at schnucks on washington to go with this specific recipe. another russian river valley pinot noir was suggested but that one was not sold at the store. the meal turned out well, and it was paired with broken rice and steamed broccoli. greg suggested we open up the oregon cloudline just to compare the two.
greg thinks the frei brothers has a nose of carmel and raisin. the flavor is acidic, a 3 on the 1-5 acidity scale (5 being so acidic it's undrinkable). he added that it's a little fruity.
as for the cloudline, he says the nose is very aromatic, almost fruity and flowery. it is hard for him to determine exactly what the fruit is. it doesn't have any tannic scent. he thinks this pinot has the scent of fabric softener (!), it's very smooth to drink. he thinks it's a 2 on the 1-5 acidity scale. it's slightly tannic in the mouth feel. he said he doesn't taste any fruitiness when he drinks it.
victoria's first impression of the frei brothers (which greg suggested we decant) was that it had a raisin nose and slight chalkiness to the mouth feel. that was a first for victoria. after it had been decanted, greg and victoria agreed that it seemed to mellow out a little. victoria can smell the alcohol in the nose, which is less raisiny. the flavor is still slightly chalky. it's unclear whether that puts it in the flabby category (i.e., opposite of acidic), since there is an element of acid to the flavor. she agrees it's a 3 on the 1-5 acidity scale.
as for the cloudline, it has a fruity nose, and she agrees there is a minor scent of fabric softener (odd, we know). this cloudline is also acidic, though it's not overwhelming. it feels like a lighter wine. paired with the chicken dish, it seems to enhance and sublimize the flavor of the balsamic/garlic glaze. she thinks it's a good pairing with this particular dish, probably because the acidity of the glaze is offset by the fruitiness of the cloudline. the cloudline is the one she'd get again. it seems to drink well on its own after the meal. the acidity is there, but it doesn't overshadow the evening.
the frei brothers is also good on its own. victoria had wanted to give the frei brothers another try since we had one of their russian river valley chardonnays back in february (which she didn't like, though she doesn't really like chards in general). now she can cross this particular pinot off her list. not sure she'd get it again.
cloudline: part of the joseph drouhin company, grapes were grown in oregon but not all of them necessarily came from the willamette valley, which is the state's best-known growing area, according to winevoice.blogspot.com. that site goes on to say that cloudline only exists on paper and is in fact owned by dreyfus, ashby and co., which is actually joseph drouhin's wholly owned u.s. distributor. for a really interesting read on the cloudline name, see: http://winevoice.blogspot.com/2008/10/cloudline-pinot-2007-versus-2006.html
greg thinks the frei brothers has a nose of carmel and raisin. the flavor is acidic, a 3 on the 1-5 acidity scale (5 being so acidic it's undrinkable). he added that it's a little fruity.
as for the cloudline, he says the nose is very aromatic, almost fruity and flowery. it is hard for him to determine exactly what the fruit is. it doesn't have any tannic scent. he thinks this pinot has the scent of fabric softener (!), it's very smooth to drink. he thinks it's a 2 on the 1-5 acidity scale. it's slightly tannic in the mouth feel. he said he doesn't taste any fruitiness when he drinks it.
victoria's first impression of the frei brothers (which greg suggested we decant) was that it had a raisin nose and slight chalkiness to the mouth feel. that was a first for victoria. after it had been decanted, greg and victoria agreed that it seemed to mellow out a little. victoria can smell the alcohol in the nose, which is less raisiny. the flavor is still slightly chalky. it's unclear whether that puts it in the flabby category (i.e., opposite of acidic), since there is an element of acid to the flavor. she agrees it's a 3 on the 1-5 acidity scale.
as for the cloudline, it has a fruity nose, and she agrees there is a minor scent of fabric softener (odd, we know). this cloudline is also acidic, though it's not overwhelming. it feels like a lighter wine. paired with the chicken dish, it seems to enhance and sublimize the flavor of the balsamic/garlic glaze. she thinks it's a good pairing with this particular dish, probably because the acidity of the glaze is offset by the fruitiness of the cloudline. the cloudline is the one she'd get again. it seems to drink well on its own after the meal. the acidity is there, but it doesn't overshadow the evening.
the frei brothers is also good on its own. victoria had wanted to give the frei brothers another try since we had one of their russian river valley chardonnays back in february (which she didn't like, though she doesn't really like chards in general). now she can cross this particular pinot off her list. not sure she'd get it again.
cloudline: part of the joseph drouhin company, grapes were grown in oregon but not all of them necessarily came from the willamette valley, which is the state's best-known growing area, according to winevoice.blogspot.com. that site goes on to say that cloudline only exists on paper and is in fact owned by dreyfus, ashby and co., which is actually joseph drouhin's wholly owned u.s. distributor. for a really interesting read on the cloudline name, see: http://winevoice.blogspot.com/2008/10/cloudline-pinot-2007-versus-2006.html
13.5 percent alcohol. $13.49 with 10-percent case discount at big red liquors.
frei brothers: sonoma county, gallo-owned. 13.5 percent alcohol. $27.99 at schnucks on washington.