Terra Terroir in Brookhaven is on of our favorite restaurants in the ATL… and not just because it is literally 1 mile from our house, but the owner has taken a very serious liking to Oregon Pinot Noir.  We noticed this right away 3 years ago when we moved here from the ‘burbs and the menu is just as fantastic.  Each of the last two years we have attended their “Pinot Ultimate” tasting where they invite heralded Oregon Pinot expert: Fred Gunton (of A Nose for Wine Tours)– a look alike to Rollie Fingers of San Diego Padres fame back in the 70’s with his curly/brisly mustache, but not much of a curve ball.  He is a straight shooter when it comes to his passion about the finicky fruit from the Northwest.  Here is our rundown of the wines presented:

Beaux Freres – 2007 The Upper Terrace - right off the bat (tired of the baseball?) our favorite.  We visited Beaux Freres and new what we were in for, but this comparison sealed the deal.  The color was very light ruby and we could read the menu right through it.  Nose had some earthiness, slight cinnamon but was tight at first and revealed itself after 15 minutes or so.   Finally the taste had a lot of black fruit, with some spice on the end and wonderful lingering finish

Lachini – 2006 Pinot Noir Cuvee Giselle -medium in hue, a little darker than the Beaux, but the nose had a lot of oak and a slight hint of alcohol.  The taste was of tart cherry, light spice, with huge mouthfeel…and a long finish

Ponzi – 2005 Pinot Noir Reserve -we had this with the crab cakes that had some spicy sauce with horseradish, but it paired well.  The nose was tight early one, but opened with some cherries eventually.  The taste was nice and tart with black fruit with a bang… a lot of fruit.

Quailhurst – 2006 Tiaraella Reserve Pinot Noir- this also was on the table paired with the crab cakes and got a lot of hot cinnamon candy on the nose that really popped after a taste of the cakes.  The spice though seemed to overbear any fruit that may have been there, but I still liked it!  I might compare this to the Cinnabon in the mall and some tart black fruit to taste with a decent mouthfeel.

Ribbon Ridge – 2006 Ribbon Ridge Pinot Noir - this was probably our 2nd favorite as the nose lit up feelings of licorice, violet, cinnamon and spiced oatmeal cake.  Probably the most “complex” noses of the night.  Tasting revealed black fruit, big spice that really popped with the meat loaf it was paired with.

Terra Vina – 2006 La Famiglia Reserve Pinot Noir - I got some bitter chocolate on the nose, maybe a hint of licorice and lilac.  The taste was a bit plain for me with some tart, black cherries

If you haven’t figured it out we are big fans of Pinot and should probably change this site’s name to Pinot Tonite!  But, seriously, if you haven’t gotten out of your California coma, you really need to work your way north to try some of the best fruit in the land.