Winemaker Notes
Loads of ripe raspberry, strawberry and cherry pie flavors and aromas as well as a savory, smoky note. It is this savory note that separates this wine from more straightforward, fruity Pinot Noirs. It is a fairly big wine, and like all the Kingston reds, it will benefit from a little air; but this is a wine for enjoying now while it is
youthful and fresh.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Such an attractive nose with racy strawberries, dark cherries, violets and fresh herbs. Full, but very transparent on the palate with lots of sappy plums and cherries. Very pure and youthful now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The bright ruby colored 2019 Tobiano Pinot Noir follows the style that I've seen since 2016, fermented with some full clusters and matured in neutral barrels. They are lighter and fresher even in warmer years, with 12% alcohol and a varietal, clean and attractive nose of red berries and spices with an herbal twist. The palate is balanced, elegant and medium-bodied, with very fine tannins, nice precision and very good acidity.
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 region that has become synonymous with some of the best whites of Chile, the Casablanca Valley is full of dozens of bodegas who either grow fruit here or come from outside to source from local growers for their own white wine programs. The valley runs from east to west, which means that its westernmost vineyards receive the most cooling influence from the reliable afternoon sea breezes. The soils also tend to be heavier in clay in the west, whereas the eastern end of the valley is warmer and its soils are predominantly granitic. Sauvignon blanc thrives here, Chardonnay does well and Pinot noir is not uncommon.