Winemaker Notes
La Savante pairs well with ravioli with tomato sauce, polenta with peperonata, or bibimbap.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Structured on the palate with a hint of reductive, white sesame note to the red cherries, raspberries, undergrowth, grapefruit zest and a hint of wet stones. Really firm, fine tannins linger in the lengthy finish. Nuanced and long.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Pinot Noir Le Paradis comes from a high-altitude vineyard in Gualtallary, Uco Valley, planted at 4,900 feet above sea level and was aged for sixteen months in thirty percent new French oak barrels. Ruby red in the glass. The nose delivers sweet and sour cherry, rose petal, damp earth and sage aromas over faint layers of oak. It has a lean, dry profile and a textured, chalky mouthfeel. A touch of salinity enhances the wine's refreshing character, resulting in a vibrant, enduring finish. The 2021 is a delicate cool-climate wine from a cool year.
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.”
With a winning combination of cool weather, high elevation and well-draining alluvial soils, it is no surprise that Mendoza’s Uco Valley is one of the most exciting up-and-coming wine regions in Argentina. Healthy, easy-to-manage vines produce low yields of high-quality fruit, which in turn create flavorful, full-bodied wines with generous acidity.
This is the source of some of the best Malbec in Mendoza, which can range from value-priced to ultra-premium. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay also perform well here.