Winemaker Notes
Balanced and smooth, this Pinot Noir has layered notes of jammy strawberry, cherry and boysenberry. The fruit flavors are enriched by well integrated oak and blended with Petit Verdot to achieve a substantial body. This Pinot Noir is rich and complex with soft tannins and a long layered finish. Petit Verdot contributes to the beautiful color and substantial body of the wine.
Professional Ratings
-
Tasting Panel
Imagery winemaker Jamie Benziger is an artist, and the design for this Pinot's label was inspired by the onsite gallery at the winery's estate in Sonoma. She blends in 5% Petit Verdot, adding color and body. Flashy notes of spiced heather, red tea, and cedar give way to aromatic cherry cola and brownsugared date, which reign on the supercharged finish.
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 geographic and climatic paradise for grape vines, Monterey is a part of the greater Central Coast AVA and contains within it five smaller sub-appellations, including Arroyo Seco, San Lucas, San Bernabe, Hames Valley and the famous Santa Lucia Highlands. The climate is relatively warm but tempered by cool, coastal winds, allowing the regions in Monterey County an exceptionally long growing season. Bud break often happens two weeks sooner and harvest tends to be two weeks later compared to other surrounding regions.
Monterey’s coastal side, where the cooling ocean fog allows grapes to develop a perfect sugar-acid balance, excels in the production of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Warmer, inland subzones are home to fleshy, concentrated and full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel.
Chardonnay, covering about 40% of vineyard acreage, is the most widely planted grape in all of Monterey County.