Wine Time with Aaron the Wine Guy

Hello Prince Albert! Most of the wines I talk about in this column are readily available at liquor stores in Prince Albert, but now and then, I like to choose a bottle from my personal cellar to share with you. Buying and cellaring wine is an excellent way to build a library of flavors that you know you will enjoy but also to witness the evolution and transformation of a wine from a good or decent wine into a matured, fully developed bottle. One way to get ahead of rising prices is to buy high quality wines now and lay them down for 5 to 10 years. I bought a bottle of Beaux Freres 2016 Pinot Noir in 2018 for around $70 after taxes but to buy that same bottle now in Canada (the 2016 vintage) will cost you around $100 to $130. Has time been kind to this 2016 Pinot Noir? Let’s find out!

To begin, this may be one of the last wines from the USA that I will be trying or talking about for some time due to events occurring in the states (I know, boo, politics!), but the reality is that it will be more important than ever to support our local industries, including Canadian wine in the future. This set of circumstances is unfortunate because I have come to love so many kinds of wine from the USA including their fantastic array of Cabernet Sauvignon. This week however, I was very happy that I opened the Beaux Freres Pinot Noir from 2016 because I have been eyeing this bottle and contemplating drinking it for several years. Finally, the time is here!

Beaux Freres is a winery in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. This AVA (American viticultural area) covers a staggering 3.4 million acres of land with at least 900 separate wineries and 500 vineyards. The region stretches from the South of Eugene, Oregon to the Columbia River (not to be confused with the Columbia Valley AVA in Washington) in the North while the region covers land from the Cascade Mountains in the East to the Oregon Coast Range in the West. As most of the seasons in this growing area are mild, cool and moist, the region is perfectly suited for the production of world-class Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris.

A popular wine tasting theme that anyone can partake in is to pit Oregon Pinot Noir or Chardonnay against the wines of Burgundy, France (the spiritual and physical home of the best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the world). Differences between these regions can be quite striking with the new-world wines of Oregon accenting fullness and fruity flavor and the wines of France displaying exquisite balance and layered complexity (especially with age in the bottle).

Pinot Noir is usually viewed as a lighter, less-intense style of red wine but you might change your mind after tasting a wine like the Beaux Feres! This Pinot is intense and deeply concentrated with a touch of sweetness, mouthwatering dark cherries and subtle undertones of forest notes and spice. The wine is extremely food friendly but choose your pairing options carefully as peppery or spicy foods can accentuate the peppery background of this wine.

The 2016 Beaux Freres is sourced from 8 individual vineyards in the Willamette Valley including the Gran Moraine vineyard contributing the highest percentage (29%) and the Beaux Freres vineyard which contributes the lowest amount (4%). The wine is also un-fined and un-filtered, meaning many of the smaller particles haven’t been filtered or removed from the wine. Not only does this give the wine a slightly cloudy or hazy appearance but the intensity and concentration of the wine is greatly enhanced by this lack of intervention in the winemaking process. Another bonus is that less chemicals or additives are needed to create this delicious cuvee (blend).

The Willamette Valley also produces a large number of other varietals like Auxerois, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Dolcetto, Gamay Noir, Gewurztraminer and Malbec among many others but the star of this AVA is still Pinot Noir.

Pair Willamette Pinot Noir with savory meats, cheesy dishes (spinach dip) or my all-time favorite pairing: Hawkins Cheezies (I can’t be fancy all the time). Here are my wine picks of the week!      

Beaux Freres Pinot Noir 2016: (Willamette Valley, Oregon). Off-dry red, medium ruby color with a slightly hazy appearance and moderate fading at the edge. The bouquet is full of fruity, earthy notes with dark cherries, forest foliage/underbrush, warm sweet spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves) and soft glove leather. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied and medium-plus intense with deeply concentrated flavors of dark cherries and a mineral zestiness which tickles the tip of the tongue. Medium acidity cleans the tastebuds and keeps the wine in balance. After the fruity opening, the mid-palate is long and full, backed by spices which warm the top of the palate and tongue and light tannins (smooth and silky) which build to medium after a few sips. Once the fruit and zesty mineral note subsides, pepper, nutmeg and cloves grip the mouth as the tannins slowly build and saturate the tastebuds. A delicious savory flavor comes in on the long finish, full of toasted oak, biscuit and a wisp of smoked leather. The flavors on the finish are complex and layered with an initial blend of cherry fruit, cherry pits, decayed leaves/foliage (the smell of fall), toast, salted biscuits, oak, cherry preserves/jam and assertive spice which leaves a bit of heat on the tongue. Since the wine is un-filtered and un-fined, it will do well with 20 to 30 minutes of decanting which allows the particles remaining in the wine to settle. No sediment left in the bottle at the end of tasting. This fruity, spicy, full Pinot was a delight to drink and characterizes the high-quality wines made in the state of Oregon. Outstanding! $70, 14.1% ABV

Cheers and thanks for reading!

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