Alma de Cattleya Pinot Noir 2018
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Elegant notes of raspberry, Black cherry, and plum are backed delicately by subtle spice and vanilla as this true representation of Sonoma County culminates with soft tannin and a long finish.
Pair with lamb or pork chops with grilled vegetables.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of cranberry, rose petal, wet gravel and slight tar greet the nose. The palate is earthy in tones of crushed rock, dried thyme and desert sagebrush, which give depth to the fresh cranberry-fruit backdrop.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A blend of sites and clones, all from Sonoma County, the 2018 Pinot Noir was destemmed and brought up in neutral French oak. There were 2,000 cases made. Revealing a medium ruby/translucent purple hue to go with a beautiful nose of spiced strawberries, raspberries, crushed flowers, and violets, it's beautifully textured and medium-bodied, with good acidity and outstanding length. You're going to be hard pressed to find a better Sonoma County Pinot Noir at the price...
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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.”
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.