Clos de la Tech Santa Cruz Mountains Estates Pinot Noir 2014
-
Wine
Enthusiast
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
While the SCME is consistently our most accessible wine each year, this 2014 is still impressively dark, bold and structured. e wine starts with cherries, rose petal and raspberry and finishes with earth, leather and oak. It is pure, dense and tannic. As with previous vintages, this is one serious Pinot Noir that will gain texture and complexity over the next decade.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Despite already being five years old, this estate blend remains quite young and will live long. Aromas of black plum, nutmeg and star anise lead into a palate framed by sandy tannins, where black-fruit and dried ginger flavors arise. Drink 2021–2031.
Cellar Selection
Other Vintages
2015- Vinous
-
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Wine
Enthusiast
Our name, Clos de la Tech, was inspired by the great Burgundy Houses of France that often use the word 'Clos' - meaning 'enclosed area' - in their names and for the tech industry that thrives below our mountaintop vineyard.
With caves tunneling deep into a vine-covered ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains and vineyards so steep they have to be farmed with a unique, specially-designed tractor moved by cables, Clos de la Tech is one of the most ambitious and innovative Pinot Noir producers in California. The winery was established in 1994 and continues to be operated by TJ Rodgers, founder and retired CEO of Cypress Semiconductor, and his wife, Valeta. Some of the highlights at Clos de la Tech include extreme growing conditions, high-altitude terrain, vine-by-vine farming, high-density planting (4,150 vines per acre), low yields, innovative equipment, gravity-flow winery, whole cluster fermentations with native yeast, and no filtration. In most vintages, the winery produces five wines from their three estate vineyards.
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 rugged and topographically diverse cool-climate appellation with a rich history, the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA stretches from Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco, to the northern border of Monterey County. Elevations range from 800 feet to upwards of 3,000 and microclimates vary substantially depending on which side of the mountains the vineyards lie; cool ocean winds and fog play an important role here. This can be a challenging region in which to grow grapes, but it is well worth the effort. Santa Cruz Mountains wines are noted for balanced acidity levels, often showing great aging potential. Wine has been made here since the 1800s, most notably from the legendary Ridge Vineyards, whose Monte Bello vineyard garners international admiration.
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are the stars of this region, while Merlot and Zinfandel also perform quite well. Organic and sustainable vineyard practices are becoming increasingly common.