Castle Rock Monterey Pinot Noir 2006

  • 89 Connoisseurs'
    Guide
2021 Vintage In Stock
11 99
OFFER Take $20 off your order of $100+
Ships Mon, Apr 1
You purchased this 3/27/24
1
Limit Reached
You purchased this 3/27/24
Alert me about new vintages and availability
Castle Rock Monterey Pinot Noir 2006 Front Label
Castle Rock Monterey Pinot Noir 2006 Front Label

Product Details


Varietal

Region

Producer

Vintage
2006

Size
750ML

Your Rating

0.0 Not For Me NaN/NaN/N

Somm Note

Winemaker Notes

This Pinot Noir is produced from grapes grown in Monterey County along the Central Coast of California, where the climate and soil quality provide excellent growing conditions for this Burgundian varietal. Here, the cooling air from Monterey Bay helps to produce a longer growing season for grapes, with extra hang-time on the vines leading to a characteristic depth of flavor in the wine.

Castle Rock Monterey Pinot Noir is elegant and medium-bodied, offering aromas of cherry, tea and herbal spice. On the palate, the wine gives flavors of black cherry, plum and spice. It is smooth with a silky texture and mild tannins. This versatile food wine pairs well with lamb, chicken, veal, salmon and light pasta dishes.

"Although we are fully aware that Monterey is a fine home for Pinot Noir and that there is plenty of the stuff planted there, we could not but help asking "how do they do it?" when we tasted this one and then looked at the price. With the definition and depth of wines costing up to several times its price, it exhibits keen and concentrated black-cherry fruit with highlights of cola and dried flowers, and it is at once both fleshy in feel and very light on its feet. It trades high extract and bluster for precision and balance and comes up a big winner for it."
-Connoisseurs' Guide Good Value

Professional Ratings

  • 89

Other Vintages

2019
  • 90 Wine
    Enthusiast
2011
  • 89 Wine
    Enthusiast
Castle Rock

Castle Rock Winery

View all products
Castle Rock Winery, California
Since its inception in 1994, Castle Rock Winery has built an enviable reputation for producing high quality wines at affordable prices for discerning wine lovers. This winning formula is highly successful, as proven by an increasing number of customers and members of the wine press, who have given the wines glowing reviews.

Castle Rock's wines are carefully made from grapes grown in the most prestigious areas of the West Coast states - California (Napa Valley, Sonoma County, Mendocino County, Monterey County, Alexander Valley), Oregon (Willamette Valley), and Washington (Columbia Valley). The company has always focused on making wines with specific appellations in order to allow the local qualities of the wine to be appreciated by connoisseurs.

The wines are made and bottled at wineries boasting state-of-the-art equipment, located in Napa Valley, Sonoma County, Oregon's Willamette Valley, and Washington’s Columbia Valley. Distribution throughout all states of the United States is through a comprehensive network of fine wine distributors.

Image for  content section
View all products
Image for Central Coast Pinot Noir content section
View all products

Let’s start with the obvious – Central Coast Pinot Noir is an incredibly broad category. This of course is because the Central Coast appellation is enormous, and it contains several stellar Pinot Noir regions within it, all of them kept cool by elevation or proximity to the ocean (or both). So we’ll break things down a bit with a brief look at each of these: Santa Cruz Mountains, Monterey and the Santa Lucia Highlands, Santa Maria Valley and Sta. Rita Hills. These are not the only Central Coast sources of good Pinot Noir, but they are the major ones. So let’s get started.

In the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation, just west of Silicon Valley, producers craft excellent Pinot in spite of serious challenges. The land is mountainous, rugged and can be foggy, the topsoil is thin and poor and yields tend to be low. Yet Pinots from the likes of David Bruce, Martin Ray, Mount Eden and Thomas Fogarty exhibit undeniable quality, along with bright red fruit, minerality, earth and herbal hints.

Just south lies the large Monterey appellation. Monterey Pinot Noir is grown in coastal areas, taking optimal advantage of the cooling effect of the Pacific. The most highly regarded of these is the Santa Lucia Highlands. Situated on hilly benchlands south of the city of Monterey, this central coast region relies on a long growing season, night and morning fog and consistent afternoon winds to produce world class Pinot Noir. Attributes include intense, rich fruit, subtle earthy notes, spice and a silky texture. Look for producers like Siduri, Kosta Browne, Talbott and Lucienne.

The Santa Maria Valley in northern Santa Barbara County (a section of it falls into southern San Luis Obispo County) is also a haven for quality Pinot Noir. A mere 15 miles from the Pacific, the valley runs east-west, creating a natural tunnel through which ocean breezes and fog flow. This effect lengthens the growing season and promotes both ripeness and development of acidity, lending Santa Maria Valley Pinots their characteristic full flavor, balance and elegance. The famous Bien Nacido Vineyard is located here, and notable producers include Cambria, Foxen, Byron and Au Bon Climat.

Finally, we arrive at the Sta. Rita Hills, also in Santa Barbara County. Located in the western part of the Santa Ynez Valley, it too benefits from an east-west orientation that leads to the same conditions mentioned above. Once again the result is extended hang time for the grapes, which can be tasted in the vibrant, ripe red fruits evident in these Pinots, along with dense coloration and an impression of richness and intensity. Try wines from producers like Ken Brown, Ampelos, Fess Parker and Melville.

As you can see, California’s Central Coast offers a wealth of options for any lover of Pinot Noir. Cheers!

YNG330025_2006 Item# 90931

Internet Explorer is no longer supported.
Please use a different browser like Edge, Chrome or Firefox to enjoy all that Wine.com has to offer.

It's easy to make the switch.
Enjoy better browsing and increased security.

Yes, Update Now

Search for ""