Winemaker Notes
Vintage leather, cedar, anise and wild strawberry begin this opus of luxuriously perfumed Pinot. The body is layered with pipe tobacco, morels and pie crust that come across the palate pure and full. Focused as its journeys to a seamless, endless crescendo. A work needed to be written. THE NEW CLASSIC.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is a toned and phenolic pinot with dried strawberry, chocolate and tile character. Earthy. Full-bodied, yet bright and vivid. Punchy and refined at the same time. Plenty going on at the finish. A new wine. Drink now or hold.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A new project by the team at K Vintners being headed up by Charles Smith and Brennon Leighton, Golden West will focus on Pinot Noir from cooler climate, higher elevation sites in the Columbia Valley. The 2018 is the first release and it’s a great bottle of wine that sells for a song. Coming from a mix of clones (777, 115, 2A, and Pommard) vines planted in 2014-2015, the 2018 Pinot Noir was 70% destemmed and spent a full 41 days on skins before spending a year in 15% new French oak. Classic Pinot Noir notes of black cherries, forest floor, autumn leaves, and spice all flow to a beautifully textured, medium-bodied, seamless wine that has present tannins, outstanding balance, and a great finish. It's easily the best Pinot Noir I've tasted from Washington State. Talk about value.
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.”
