The wine: Edna Valley Pinot Noir, 2015, Central Coast, California
The details: 14.5% abv, cork, around ÂŁ10
Date of pairing: Friday 11th May 2018
If youâve stuck with Cork and Chord for a while, you might have noticed I like a big, bold wine. What am I doing drinking Pinot Noir? But a Californian at 14.5% abv could never be described as âlightâ. Edna Valley Vineyardâs nod to its Burgundian brothers holds the classic clove and red fruit nose with just a little more ripeness. It reminds me of balsamic strawberries: a food combination I could never quite gel with but glorious in a whiff of wine. This, married with bramble leaf and the faint hint of earth just after itâs rained in summer leaves you desperate for a taste. However, I found the flavour of the wine a little different to the aroma. The first thing that hit was the alcohol: Noticeable and certainly warming but not overbearing. With silky smooth tannins (expected in any good Pinot) and acidity that would make any baked Camembert sing, it really balances things out.
The flavours are like strawberry jelly with raspberry ripple ice cream which leads me to my music pairing: a, usually fun, light-hearted band with a song that has a little more seriousness to it. It needed to be something fiery with plenty of balls but all the while ethereal. I settled on the Scissor Sistersâ take on Comfortably Numb. From the band that brought you Tits on the Radio and Kiss you Off, their Pink Floyd cover sets a more serious tone, reflected in the mature leafy character combined with the fun, fruity appeal of the wine. If Pink Floyd were a classic Volnay, Edna Valley Pinot Noir is a contemporary twist on the original: not better, nor worse, but refreshingly different and beautiful in its own right.