2007 Macphail Pinot Noir, Toulouse Vineyard
I’ve heard the term “chasing the dragon” used to describe a heroin addiction before, referencing the fact that a junky is forever chasing the unattainable perfect high that comes from the first-ever hit. Despite the fact that my experience with opiates consists of a couple of recent bouts with a nasty cough and the subsequent codeine-laced prescription syrup (I should probably review that stuff here– wow!), I am more than passingly familiar with the concept of chasing the dragon. I’ve been doing it ever since I drank my first sip of MacPhail’s 2002 Toulouse Vineyard release.
That wine is singularly responsible for my Pinot Noir addicion. I’ve been chasing the bouquet of that glass of wine — and the following 03, 04 & 05 vintages — ever since. It’s responsible for thousands of dollars (actually it’s now in the tens-of-thousands) spent in pursuit of other wines that might — just might– have that oh so raucous smell. I’ve flown to mainland Mexico 3 times on sky miles accumulated buying Pinot Noir in the last 2 years. That’s a lot of wine. The entire Russian River/Sonoma Coast wine industry should thank James MacPhail for sticking that first needle into my mainline.
In fact, at this point, I’m thinking that I should just say fuck it and pick up a heroin habit. It’d be cheaper.
(Instead, I’m learning to make my own Pinot, which will definitely turn the tens-of-thousands I’ve spent on wine into hundreds-of thousands soon-to-be spent. How do you make a small fortune? Start making wine with a huge fortune). So, in fact again, James’ wine from Toulouse vineyard has effectively ruined my life and doomed me to retire in destitute poverty, only to die face down with my nose jammed into a Riedel Pinot Noir glass.
And I don’t fucking care. This 2007 vintage is that good. I took one sniff right after I corked the bottle and it was like fireworks going off. I actually said out loud (I was alone) “That’s it!”. Then I ran into the house, grabbed my wife and jammed my glass under her nose and said “that’s it!” again.
The funny thing is, her response was “damn, it sure is”.
If I were told by a doctor that I could have one more glass of wine before dying and could pick from any wine on the planet, this is the wine I’d pick. DRC be damned.
The first pour today showed toasty notes on the nose, maybe in the toasted walnut or toasted almond realm, with a light redwood bark backnote and a nice core of cherry cola. There are some forest floor undertones too, but there’s a solid layer of ripe berry in there– think about the offspring from a strawberry that humped a blackberry– along with a hint of stone fruit (plums). Really layered up. In fact, it was so layered that I didn’t actually drink any wine for a good 5 minutes. I just kept stuffing my nose in the glass.
When I actually did finally drink it, I was happy sit back and soil myself while those same layers peeled off one-after-the-other on my tongue. Lots of sediment in the glass. There’s a slight heat from the alcohol (14.8) but overall a really nice, soft and balanced mouthfeel. This is a wine where one small sip can last you five minutes or more, despite being really new. I can’t wait to see what it’s like a year from now and 5 years after that. Assuming I can save any for that long.
MacPhail really is bringing out the best qualities in the Pinot Noir that’s being grown in the Anderson Valley and Sonoma Coast appellations. Seems to me like he stays out of the way – native yeast fermentation, native malolactic fermentation and usually no fining or filtration, plus it seems like he keeps a watchful eye on harvest time and methods. I don’t get a sense that he’s heavy-handed with the acid most-times, or that he waters his wine back. Still not sure how he gets all those layers, though he does load up on clones and coopers in most vintages– this one has 4 clones (115,667, 777 and 2A) aged in 5 different kinds of new cooperage (not to mention the mature).
I realize I’m gushing here, but DAMN, I had one hell of a rotten week this week, capped off by one SERIOUSLY rotten day today, and one sniff of this wine brought a smile to my face. This wine is why I drink Pinot Noir. Try it. No score needed.
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is a review!
This one left me wanting more in such a way that I was compelled to crack the 07 Sonoma Coast after dinner. They both just arrived last week. The Sonoma Coast, while still excellent, doesn’t right now have that same bouquet. The nose feels flat and almost astringent in comparison. I remember thinking the same thing about the 06 when it first arrived, but then I loved it (in a big way) 6 months later. I think the Sonoma Coast just needs some extra time in the bottle.
Let’s just say I won’t be working tomorrow. Fuck it. Sick day. Some fucker broke in and stole my computer at the office anyway. It’s either wine or a shotgun. Wine wins.
After pollishing off (sneaky like, when everyone left for the after dinner walk) a full bottle of wine that JTH’s mom brought over to my parent’s house when I was 12, swimming in a sea of wine and pasta vomit in the shower a few hours later, and being so hungover that I couldn’t bend over without falling down the next day, it took 10 years for me to even be able to smell wine without feeling like I was gonna pass out.
It was that damn ‘02 McPhail that J David graciously shared with me under his house, sitting on 5 gallon buckets in the dirt, that got me hooked too. God damn it was good. The depressing part: J David just reminded me that it only set him back 22 bucks. 22 bucks! WTF? What are the current single vineyards going for? 60+. Too rich for my blood…
Oh well.
The good ol’ days; my passive cellar probably hit 80-85 degrees in the summer heat. I remember that first 2002 Toulouse being the most expensive bottle I had ever purchased. I think it was the wagon on the label that got me.