“You never know until you try.” Truer words were never spoken
Wine tasting is a lot like life in its own way. As you travel you learn what you like and what you don’t. What to run to and what to avoid. But learning to try, to try something new, something different. That equates to a learning experience and learning can be tough. Too often it involves doing something you never would have considered before. But if you try, you learn. And sometimes, sometimes, you open up a whole new world. Primarius Pinot Noir is a perfect example.
Let’s start with this…I don’t normally drink Pinot Noir. Why? I couldn’t tell you. The name just kind of puts me off. Growing up in a world of Chianti can do that to you. So when the opportunity to try this wine presented itself I was a little hesitant, but under the circumstances, I went for it. (More on that a bit later.)
Primarius wines hail from the Pacific Northwest in the growing areas of Oregon, Willamette Valley. Winemaker Sarah Cabot is in charge here and with her experience with Omero Cellars and Willakenzie Estate, she has mastered the diversity of each harvest and learned to use the climate and growing conditions to her advantage. She is one of the few women in this business who can boast of crushing 1,000 tons, yes TONS, of grapes for her Pinot Noir while also earning top critical acclaim for each vintage.
Primarius is a Latin word meaning excellent or remarkable. Pinot Noir is a red wine made exclusively from the grapes of the same name, French derivatives meaning pine and black referring to the tight, cone shaped clusters of dark colored grapes. It is a difficult grape to cultivate into wine because of the tight clusters which can cause early rotting. The thin skins will usually produce light colored wines, medium bodied and low tannin. This wine was a lot more flavorful than I had imagined. In the bottle it did appear darker than in the glass, but still a deeper red than what I thought. On the nose it was quite aromatic with slight essences of both dark fruits, blackberries, with touches of fresh tobacco leaf and oak. On the palate it was very refreshing with rich, velvety tannins and smooth almost creamy legs. We paired this wine with a variety of foods, including both scallops and beef and it stood up to each very nicely. The flavor lingered just long enough so as not to overwhelm the foods while at the same time, not get lost.
So, what was it that made me take this journey into the relative unknown? Well, you see, my younger son got married last weekend. My wife and I had to board a flight into New York City and get a cab to a far away, mythical country called Brooklyn. My son and his new wife picked this wine, along with a very fine white, Mezzacorona which I have written about previously, so honestly, I would have enjoyed anything as we celebrated this union. The food was excellent, the music was also and the venue could not have handled it better. He has married a wonderful young lady who is from an equally wonderful family. The food, the wine and the music only served to cement the ceremony.
Primarius Pinot Noir was a new experience, one which I never would have ordered, only because I never order Pinot Noir. But as I said above, life is an experience. And you should experience new things often. Don’t bore yourself. Step out of the box and be daring. This is a versatile wine that is bold enough to enjoy with both beef and poultry. Oregon is a relatively new wine region, but some of its wines can be compared to those produced anywhere else in the world. Personally, I would give this wine a rating of a solid 9 out of an unattainable 10 grapes. And thanks to my son and my new daughter, my horizons, along with my waistline, have been widened.
Alcohol – 12.5%
Price – right around $25
Lifesvoyager 