Iron Horse Vineyards Pinot Noir – Good, But Not That Good
Written: Oct 25 '00 (Updated Oct 28 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Nice Light and Fruity
Cons: Too Costly For What You Get
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| stonehousellc's Full Review: Iron Horse Vineyards Pinot Noir Green Valley Thoma... |
Winemakers, as curious a lot as there have ever been, might pull a single cluster of grapes from a vine, determine by sight that they are somehow special, and build an entire line of reserve wines around them. One of my long ago favorite picnic wines, Sabastiani’s Eye of the Swan Pinot Noir Blanc, was blended to be the same color as the eyes of special swans, which lived on the estate. I can’t say that was why it was good, but it did make for a very pretty pink color.
These days, you’re more likely to find that wineries will carve out small tracts of land and produce vineyard specific wines from that small space. The result, as any 8th grade economics student can tell you, is very predictable. Limited production equals tighter demand equals higher price. I can’t fault the thinking, but sometimes the resultant wine just isn’t that much, if any, better than the normal production. Again, business (they are farmers, after all, whose income is dependant on getting as much for their product as possible) has a way of corrupting the artistic vision.
Iron Horse Vineyards gained unprecedented fame when then President Reagan chose to serve their Sparkling Wines at White House functions. It was a bold step, as French Champagnes were considered the wine of international diplomacy. It also served to overshadow Iron Horse’s production of still wines, which their own website puts at half of annual production. Perhaps that is why they bottle as many wines as they do under special designations. Just a thought.
The Iron Horse Thomas Road Pinot Noir is one of the limited production wines offered. The rational used for its production, found at the company’s site:
The Thomas Road Vineyard is a very limited release. It comes from one tiny block of vineyard, up on a ledge behind the winery, which we think of as an estate within the estate. The fine, sandy soil type is called Gold Ridge - an upthrust of an ancient seabed that titled and drained into the ocean 120 million years ago. This wine exemplifies how one section of vineyard can produce remarkably different, superior flavors. The wine is made in a radical way - cold soaking the whole grape clusters for a week to ten days and barrel fermentation in 100 percent new French oak.
Now I’m no winemaker, and I’m certainly not a geologist, but I do drink a lot of wine and am considered by some to be something of an expert from the tasting side. This is a very good Pinot Noir. It represents a style of Pinot – lighter, fruitier, easier to drink – that I happen to enjoy very much. There is plenty of black cherry, red raspberry and hint of floral honey to make for an easily quaffable blend. Too, that new French oak gives what little weight the wine has to its finish as well as producing just the slightest spice – akin to hoisin sauce, some heat, but also sweet.
The question is, does this wine demand $40-45 a bottle because it is that good, or because it is such a limited production. I think it is the latter. I certainly enjoy drinking this wine, but I can’t justify the price when many similar Pinots go for half or even a quarter the price. Too, it has little if any cellar qualities, being as ready to drink now as it will ever be. Again, I understand the thinking behind special designations. But in this case I’m just not buying it. Or at least not buying any more of it.
Recommended:
No
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stonehousellc
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Location: Nashville, TN
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