Tortoise Creek Les Oliviers Pinot Noir 2009
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Our Pinot Noir"Les Oliviers" is less "jammy" than its Californian cousins. It is perhaps more Burgundian and is delicate. It has lovely aromas of violets and shows ripe raspberry characteristics on the palate. It is a gorgeous food wine and works well with roast meats, tuna and cheeses.
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2010-
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Spectator
Tortoise Creek was created by Mel and Janie master, a British couple who have lived most of their lives in the wine business in both France and California. “Tortoise Creek” comes from the translation of the name of the couple's home in Provence named "Le Riseau de Tortue" after the Tortoises who flourished in the creek alongside their vineyard.
The concept with Tortoise Creek is to work with small farmers in California who focus on sustainable farming. Tortoise Creek is handcrafted, small-batch wines selected and blended from growers who understand this philosophy. In 2008, Mel and Janie Master joined forces with the Sager family who own the national importing company, Winesellers, Ltd., and together they have extended the range to consists of top quality Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, and Sauvignon Blanc. They are all blended to create the best possible representation of the varietal and offer remarkable value.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
An extensive appellation producing a diverse selection of good quality and great values, Languedoc spans the Mediterranean coast from the Pyrenees mountains of Roussillon all the way to the Rhône Valley. Languedoc’s terrain is generally flat coastal plains, with a warm Mediterranean climate and frequent risk of drought.
Virtually every style of wine is made in this expansive region. Most dry wines are blends with varietal choice strongly influenced by the neighboring Rhône Valley. For reds and rosés, the primary grapes include Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, Cinsault and Mourvèdre. White varieties include Grenache Blanc, Muscat, Ugni Blanc, Vermentino, Macabéo, Clairette, Piquepoul and Bourbelenc.
International varieties are also planted in large numbers here, in particular Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The key region for sparkling wines here is Limoux, where Blanquette de Limoux is believed to have been the first sparkling wine made in France, even before Champagne. Crémant de Limoux is produced in a more modern style.