I reviewed an Iranian-French film last night, titled “Subtraction” and my take was that it was meaty and intellectual as to content. Can a wine be meaty and intellectual?
I have had a few wines that have had some meatiness to them often with notes of smoked meat. It is interesting that both red wines and smoked meat contain nitrates! One red wine from British Columbia I had years ago from Hester Creek reeked of hot dogs. Sulfuric overload! Meaty can also mean dense and chewy.
I am not certain a wine can be intellectual however if we interpret a highly nuanced and complicated wine of which there are many yes a wine can be intellectual. Additionally think of all the decisions that have to be made about, pruning, fermenting, ageing, blending and clonal selection wine has a huge intellectual component.
After digressing over the best film I have reviewed this year I suppose it is time to review a Primarius 2020 Oregonian Pinot Noir.
Aroma: A very muscular Pinot Noir with none of those delicate raspberry and strawberry notes one might expect from an Okanagan Pinot Noir. Oregonian Pinot Noirs are a little weightier than those Okanagan Pinot Noirs but this one tips the scale making it difficult to categorize it as a Pinot Noir. Bits of raspberry and strawberry scattered about like a bad motor vehicle accident. No meat on the nose just an abundance of rawness!
Palate: Just rawness with almost no fruit except for some eloquent black cherry thrashing about like an Iranian theocrat sentencing a protestor to death by hanging but yes some smoked brisket.
Food Pairing: Will some fatty smoked meat on rye revive this wine?
Cellarbility: If you are going to drink this do it now. Unless some blessing from the big ayatollah will rescue it from perdition.
Price: $26.95 (Ontario).
RKS 2023 Wine Rating: 74/100. Eric Asimov of New York Times 4 out of 5 stars
(Primarius 2020 Pinot Noir, Oregon, Primarius Winery, Dundee, Oregon, 750 mL, 13.2%, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 402180).
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 