2004 Battle Alsace v. California: '04 Schuller Pinot Noir no. 24 v. '04 Kynsi Edna Valley Pinot Noir

This was a surprising upset as the Schuller won the battle. I wanted to have Alsace represented during our fondue dinner, and it was a shining example of a red from a traditionally white wine region and winemaker. Distributed by the Fountainhead, Schuller's Pinots can be really funky to the point of undrinkable - varying from vintage to vintage and bottle to bottle.

Muted fruit with sulphur, tar and dark chocolate jammed you on the tongue with a slight effervecence and pleasant finish. The Kynsi, a Pinot that I have had at least 8 bottles of this year and love dearly, was suprisingly sweet and yeasty. It is Californian but not a big fruit bomb - against the Schuller and with the fondue, it was like candied raspberry water.

12.31.07 The New Year's Pinot Showdown

We had the Kingstons, the Russells, and the Murphy's over for fondue and games for New Year's Eve and I decided we should have a Pinot Battle Royale, pitting Oregon, California, Burgundy, Chile and Alsace against each other in double vintage duels plus overall. It might not have been that fair considering price ranges were from $90 to $25, but it was good fun and great to try all these wines back to back. There were some surprises and disappointments. Here is how it shook out overall from left to right. I will post the head-to-head battles and descriptions later.