D'Alfonso-Curran Rancho La Vina Pinot Noir 2017
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Wilfred
Wong
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Pairs well with grilled meats, wild salmon, game, duck confit, seared ahi, or simple burgers and pizzas.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The more I taste the D'Alfonso-Curran wines, the more I am finding them to be a discovery-in-the-making. The 2017 Ranch La Viña Pinot Noir is a standout. TASTING NOTES: This wine is all about flavor and balance. Its aromas and flavors of dried fruits, brown leaves, earthy notes should pair well with duck confit. (Tasted: August 13, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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2018-
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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.”
A superior source of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. This relatively new AVA is unquestionably one to keep an eye on.
The climate of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soil. Here, grapes ripen just enough, while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.