Buena Vista Pinot Noir Ramal Vineyard Estate 2005
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The 2005 growing season started with a wet spring followed by a cool summer, leading to a long, dry, and cooler than normal fall. Conditions on the estate where Buena Vista grows theirr Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were ideal for producing a healthy balanced crop. Harvest was long, requiring a lot of patience, as they waited for their fruit to ripen to optimal maturity. The quality of the Pinot Noir was very good to outstanding.
The pedigree of the site and quality of the vintage are clearly in evidence here. The color is deep purple with aromas of blueberry, violet, chocolate, clove and anise, subtle earth and forest floor. The flavors of rich raspberry, crème de cassis, plum and candied ginger lead into a long finish with bright acidity and silky tannins. The 2005 Ramal Vineyard Pinot Noir shows concentration, elegance and the subtle nuance of diverse clonal and site selection. Pair this rich Pinot Noir with beef tenderloin and sautéed spinach.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Still developing aromas of ripe red cherries with a dollop of black fruit concentration combine a certain youthful tightness with solid varietal focus, and that same promise of true Pinot Noir beauty shows again in the wine's mid-volume, firm and tasty flavors. A bit of cellar aging is going to allow this wine to outlast its slight vintage-dictated reluctance and to emerge with wholly on-point character and charm.
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Before there were vineyards in every valley north of San Francisco, before Napa and Sonoma were household names, before there was a California wine world at all, there was Buena Vista. Founded in 1857, Buena Vista is California’s first premium winery, and its history is as colorful as it is proud. Today, the legend is being re-born under the vision of Jean-Charles Boisset, with Winemaker Brian Maloney in the cellar. The winery's future is its past… its vivacious, colorful, and pioneering past!
Buena Vista Winery has a rich, delicious heritage as the first premium, and certainly the most colorful, of all of the wineries in California. Founded in 1857 by Agoston Haraszthy, the self-proclaimed “Count”, Buena Vista Winery is California’s first premium winery. The Count’s passion for innovation and excellence not only led to California’s first premium winery, but also to the development of the California wine world as we know it today. The Count saw the grand vision for producing fine wine in Sonoma, and Buena Vista was his vinicultural laboratory. He created the first gravity flow winery in California and excavated the first wine caves. The Count had been the first to experiment with Redwood barrels for aging and fermenting, and he brought over 300 different varieties from Europe to California. Buena Vista joined the Boisset Collection in May 2011. Today, Proprietor Jean-Charles Boisset is returning Buena Vista to its original glory with the complete restoration and re-opening of the champagne cellars, which have been unavailable to the public for over 20 years. Buena Vista wines are being driven to greater heights under Winemaker Brian Maloney, including the reintroduction of Sonoma as well as Napa Valley, in honor of where it all began!
As early as the 1970s Carneros became known as a source of terrific Pinot Noir, and was one of the first California regions to gain such a reputation. The combination of sunny days, cooling fog and thin clay soils are tailor-made for the variety. Another factor in Pinot Noir’s prominent place here is vintners’ willingness to experiment widely. The history of the grape in Carneros is marked by continuous research into clonal variations, viticultural techniques and site selection. Careful evaluation over time has revealed a signature flavor profile as well. Complex aromas and flavors of cherry, red berry, spice, earth and cola appear time and again in Carneros Pinot Noir. To this day the appellation remains one of California’s standard bearers for the variety.