Bearboat Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2005

Unbeknownst to me, Bearboat Pinot Noir has been around a while. An unknown commodity to me when it arrived a couple of months ago in Nashville, I was destined to gravitate towards it. After all, it has all the pieces of the puzzle I'm looking for.

First, I like the label. It's smack dab in the middle of classic and tongue-in-cheek, with its engraved quality, somewhat sepia tones, and the humorous bears-in-the-boat illustration. Second, it's Russian River Pinot Noir, rarely a mistake to buy under $20. Next, there's the weighty burgundy bottle that you wouldn't want to drop on your foot, but you would want to open. And then there's all the hidden meanings. By that I mean the bear, primarily. The bear as the symbol of Russia. The bear as the symbol of California. And last but not least, the bear as the symbol of jocular middle-age gay guys (such as myself), who love to inhabit the Russian River area, particularly the town of Guerneville, often with cubs in tow.

I haven't yet grown into the body of a true bear, but that's due to all the jumping rope and bicycling that tends to keep me on the lean side. I don't have any facial hair, but that's a superficial manifestation. I'm a late bloomer, so maybe I can report back when I've reached true bear status and can afford to spend weekends in a cabin along the Russian River. Until then, I'll stick with sampling as many Russian River Pinots as I can.

Piper-Sonoma, owned by Remy Cointreau last time I checked, produces the Bearboat line. The line is reportedly a 60,000+ case business, including Chardonnay. How is it this juice never found its way past my lips before?

Nowadays $20 doesn't guarantee you a fabulous Pinot Noir experience, but rather, you're happy if you get something with some real character and finesse. With well-known wine maker and consultant Raphaël Brisbois reportedly combining his technical expertise with Piper-Sonoma's Pinot Noir sourcing prowess, you would be disappointed if something really good didn't emerge. And out of the Bodega Bay fog comes a classic palate pleaser.

Ten months in French oak is judicious, and lightly fining the wine leaves a hint of fog in the bright garnet color. Expect a Pinot that's a bit more towards red than black, but with some of both. Not surprisingly for a bubbly maker's efforts, a bit of toast surrounds the aromas of black cherry and red currant. On the tongue, you might say it's more like strawberry and red currant preserves, joined by a licorice "buzz" - more a mouth feel thing than that licorice candy or Ouzo you think of. The texture is downright silky. Overall, I give it high marks for freshness, fruit, and refined texture, and it's well worth the $20 price paid.

Bearboat goes great with, what else, wild salmon! It's only Monday, and we had a couple of end filet's from a sockeye, so this fish found its way onto our plates in the form of salmon cakes. Instead of the usual salmon from the can, we crisped the fish, then poached it the rest of the way in Picpoul de Pinet. Then we picked it into small pieces, let it cool, grated in some sweet onion, cracked in some pepper, lumped in some leftover mashed potatoes, shook in some whole wheat panko crumbs, shook in some celery seed, added a beated egg, and formed patties. Back into the original pan they went, with more olive oil and butter, and the result was lots better than the standard Monday night salmon cakes. Pinot Noir, in this case Bearboat, is a great match for such fare. The meal became complete with the side dishes: speckled butter beans, turnip greens, cole slaw and fresh heirloom tomatoes (for the 40th day in a row!).

Price: $20 (Nashville). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 13.5%.

Comments

[Rob Mackey]

I found this someplace in fall 2007 at a retail outlet. Piper Sonoma does not have winery tours or tastings at its Healdburg facility.

Also, they moved production of the Bearboat line to Hopland, Mendicino County, CA.

Is this line available for retail purchase (i.e. BevMo, etc)?

[Armitage Shanks]

This is a very good value Pinot. Hard to get as I understand that some cruise line companies buy a huge percentage of the bottling each year.