Thanksgiving Anthills

We went mostly with the Pinot theme for Thanksgiving to pair with the turkey, opening two bottles of Anthill Pinot. The results were interesting, especially with regard to the contrast between the 2006 and 2007 vintage.

2006 Anthill Farms Pinot Noir Tina Marie Vineyard

I had had this wine in the recent past and this bottle showed similarly, with aromas of red raspberry and strawberry interwoven with underbrush and spice. In the mouth the wine initially shows as a touch ripe and almost sweet, but with time in the glass it takes on definition as the underbrush and spice notes emerge on the palate. By the end of the bottle, the wine is nicely detailed, although a bit subdued at all levels—almost a sleeper wine compared to what follows.

2007 Anthill Farms Pinot Noir Demuth Vineyard

I was not quite expecting the contrast here with the preceding wine. Still the signature Anthill style, with plenty of spice and notes of underbrush presumably from the whole cluster fermentation. But everything is at a higher level—the nose is much more powerful, with red raspberry wafting effortlessly from the glass, and on the palate there is another dimension of spiciness and acidity that frames the much deeper and more structured red fruit here. Much brighter, more emphatic than the 2006 Tina Marie, if the 2007 Demuth is any indication, the 2007 has to be Anthill’s finest vintage to date.

Other wines:

2002 Moillard (or Thomas-Moillard) Nuits St Georges Le Richemone

After a very successful bottle of 2002 Thomas-Moillard Pommard Rugiens (drinking beautifully, with dark Pinot floral aromas and underbrush), the NSG was hard as nails—dark fruited, austere, and tannic, this one should wait for at least 5 years.

2005 Albert Mann Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg

This bottle probably should have been kept for another five years, but somehow it arrived at the Thanksgiving festivities. The nose is subdued here, but literally exuding aromas of dry mineral dust, as if one slipped on a steep slope and found oneself face down in a rubbly pile of metamorphosed shale (AKA slate). The mineral notes actually seem to dominate over the fruit at this point (thus the appropriateness of the “closed” designation), although one senses that the fruit, which shows up mostly as slightly bitter citrus notes, is simply waiting to explode when the time is right. The underlying sense of power, which the mineral dust seems to blanket at this stage, is palpable. This is already an elegant wine, and some additional time in the glass teased out more of its subtlety and finesse, but it should be really beautiful down the road. Better buy some of these...

2002 Fevre Chablis Bougros

Recognizable as the 2002 Fevre Bougros style, with a sappy, almost oily palate, but quite well advanced. The first signs of premature oxidation have arrived here.