Pascal Bouley Volnay 1er Cru Robardelle 2014 versus Lange Pinot Noir Reserve 2021

Pascal Bouley Volnay 1er Cru Robardelle 2014 versus Lange Pinot Noir Reserve 2021

Using a 1er cru from burgundy to pitch against the cheapest range of this Lange from Willamette Valley may not be a fair match, but we are trying to prove a point that we have sourced very good quality New World Wine to benefit our consumers, and also to stress that we quality assured our wines before we bring them in (i.e. we put them through stress test in blind tasting first.) If I’m the judge awarding the winner based upon the first sip, the vote would have gone to Lange as the Volnay was too dry and skinny on the fruits. However, we keep stressing in the past 1er Cru will need some time to open up, as time goes by, 1er Cru wines will evolve and morph into a different character. Thus, we gave a fair chance for Volnay till the 3rd glass, we did notice Volnay has opened up, and showed good finesse and elegance, however, it was dry and lacked fruits to go against the Lange. Lange, being a screw-cap wine, on a whiff may imply cheap wine, though the vanilla also implies oak infused, decent quality fruits. The fruits are really the hallmark of this Reserve as its richness, power and nuance keeps supressing the Volnay. It’s a one-sided match, as the Lange keeps playing offensive and Volnay being on the defensive side. I did further research and found that International Wine Report gave this Lange Reserve 95 points. Enough points to substantiate our claims of this good quality label.