Aubert Wine Dinner
This past Saturday I was fortunate to attend a major wine tasting event at Pinot Provence Restaurant in
Costa Mesa, California. Jay Selman of GrapeRadio.com assembled an impressive lineup of wines of
Mark Aubert which were presented along with a four course dinner (menu on page 12). The 45 wine
enthusiasts who attended were energized by the wines and the room rang with conviviality. All of the
wines were donated by those lucky enough to be on the Aubert mailing list and this provided an
opportunity for others to sample wines they had only heard about. In addition, the evening began with
1998 Dom Perignon and finished with both the 2001 and 2002 d’Yquem. Unadulterated decadence!
Mark Aubert has a distinguished winemaking career including ten years at
Peter Michael. He grew up in the Napa Valley where he was more likely to
drink wine and Champagne than beer. His father was a pharmacist who
made Petite Syrah and Cabernet on the side. Mark graduated from Fresno
State with a degree in enology and minors in chemistry and viticulture. He
began his life as a winemaker at Monticello where he made their first leesstirred
Chardonnay. He struck up a friendship with Helen Turley who was
consulting for Peter Michael. When the assistant winemaker at Peter Michael
departed, Helen hired Mark. In 2000, Mark left Peter Michael to become
the winemaker for Colgin, again replacing Helen Turley. At the
same time, he started his own label, Aubert Wines. He bought a 7-acre
Chardonnay vineyard in the Vine Hill area
near Forestville (renamed Lauren Vineyard)
and near by planted another vineyard with 6 acres of Chardonnay
and 1.5 acres of Pinot Noir (Reuling Vineyard). The budwood for
the Reuling Vineyard is from a famous source in Vosne-Romanee. He
currently has four vineyard-designated Chardonnays (Ritchie Vineyard,
Quarry Vineyard, Reuling Vineyard, Lauren Vineyard) and two
Pinot Noirs (Reuling Vineyard, UV Vineyard), all in the Sonoma Coast
appellation. Mark is a true garariste and his tasting room is an unpretentious
metal shed.
Mark has a love for Burgundy and is a fan of Dujac, Jayer, Leroy and Meo-Camuzet (who isn’t?). His
initial Pinot Noir releases were the 2004 Reuling Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir (100 cases - 4 barrels)
and the 2004 UV Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir (also made in very small quantities). These
wines are sold by invitation through a mailing list (www.aubertwines.com, 707-942-5611). Mark’s
wife, Teresa handles the business side of the label.
2004 Aubert Reuling Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
15.6% alc.. Mark’s notes on the vintage:
“The old world Pinot Noir selections survived the September heat nicely. The grapes were vatted for
nearly 30 days and then aged in new French oak for 14 months. This cuvee has a real intensity of
power in and across the palate.” Parker has called his wines “packed and stacked,” and he’s got that
right.
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This is an excellent example of the California fruit-forward style. The fruit here, however, is ripe,
not over-ripe, in other words, it is concentrated Pinot extract rather than super-ripe juice. One taster likened
this wine to a “purple velvet pillow.” A very plush and profound wine that is fat in the mouth. Noticeable
oak but in a good way. The alcohol peaks out slightly. Great with the duck.
2004 Aubert UV Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
15.8% alc.. The UV Vineyard is a 30-acre Sonoma
Coast vineyard leased by Mark Aubert and vineyard manager Ulises Valdez, planted to Chardonnay
and Pinot Noir. The Pinot Noir clone is Calera selection, reputed to be, but never proven, cuttings
from La Tache in Vosne-Romanee. Mark’s notes on the vintage: “This vineyard is juxtaposed to our other Aubert vineyard sites (Lauren and Reuling). The blocks were planted on a rare soil type
called “Sebastopol Clays,” and grafted to low vigor rootings. Very intense soil driven aromas of wet
clay-earthen notes.”
·
This Pinot has more subdued aromatics than the Reuling, but there were definite
wet leaf, earthy notes combined with mushroom and tea aromas. The flavors exhibited strong loamy
characters along with interesting anise, tea leaves, and spice highlights. The consensus was that this wine
was more “Burgundian” than the Reuling, whatever that means. It was a teeth-staining, masculine Pinot
Noir, rich, long and pure on the palate. The wine was blessed with lively underlying acidity and a finish
that left a lasting impression. It was almost criminal that we opened a magnum of this wine in addition to
some 750s, as this will prove to be a marvelous wine down the road.
