Benziger Monterey Pinot Noir 2019
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Wine
Enthusiast
Product Details
Winemaker Notes
This Monterey County Pinot Noir has an inviting entry with fresh fruit flavors. Bright strawberry and cranberry aromas are duplicated on the palate, with a touch of spice and earthy notes on the finish. Silky tannins and balanced acids combine seamlessly to produce a luxurious mouthfeel.
Enjoy with dishes such as grilled salmon or roasted pork loin.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Light raspberry and cranberry aromas are wrapped in caramel and herbs on the nose of this bottling. Oregano and marjoram flavors kick off a complex palate, where dried purple-flower, roasted plum and zesty lemon-peel flavors also pop.
Other Vintages
2018-
Tasting
Panel
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.”
A geographic and climatic paradise for grape vines, Monterey is a part of the greater Central Coast AVA and contains within it five smaller sub-appellations, including Arroyo Seco, San Lucas, San Bernabe, Hames Valley and the famous Santa Lucia Highlands. The climate is relatively warm but tempered by cool, coastal winds, allowing the regions in Monterey County an exceptionally long growing season. Bud break often happens two weeks sooner and harvest tends to be two weeks later compared to other surrounding regions.
Monterey’s coastal side, where the cooling ocean fog allows grapes to develop a perfect sugar-acid balance, excels in the production of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Warmer, inland subzones are home to fleshy, concentrated and full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel.
Chardonnay, covering about 40% of vineyard acreage, is the most widely planted grape in all of Monterey County.