Mount Eden Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir (1.5 Liter Magnum) 2015
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Wine Enthusiast
Brilliantly fresh and snappy black raspberry aromas lead into a savory streak of mulberry-laced pork fat, hickory and tobacco smoke, with a hint of crushed slate on this wine’s fascinating and shape-shifting nose. Peppery spice grips the palate immediately, then splashes fresh red plum and pomegranate flavors around, finishing on white pepper, cracked nutmeg and unrelenting tension.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Seeing roughly one-third whole clusters and a mix of new and neutral oak, the 2015 Pinot Noir Estate is another terrific wine from this benchmark estate. Possessing a more structured, backward feel as well as a deep, powerful nose of black currants, charcoal, and scorched earth, this is a serious, age-worthy Pinot Noir that needs 3-4 years of bottle age yet will see its 20th birthday in fine form.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: For more than four decades, the Mount Eden Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir has been "desert island" wine. The 2015 vintage is a treat for the senses. TASTING NOTES: This wine is perky and sassy. Its aromas and flavors of pure red fruit and savory earth would make it a treat to serve with a slow-roasted rosemary-accented leg of lamb, and a few wine-loving friends to share the experience. (Tasted: August 20, 2018, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Pinot Noir Estate showcases Mount Eden's darker, brooding side with a smoldering nose of dried black fruits, damp earth, tobacco leaves and cracked leather. It is supple and round in texture, with soft acidity lightly bracing the edges of the palate. It is initially inward and closed on the finish before unclenching and continuing the savory, earth-driven style found throughout. This is a contemplative vintage that could be in an awkward phase, in need of immense aeration, or both.
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Mount Eden Vineyards is a small historic wine estate perched at 2000 feet overlooking Silicon Valley in the Santa Cruz Mountain Appellation, about 50 miles south of San Francisco. Founded in 1945, it is recognized as one of the original “boutique” California winery properties, focusing on small lots of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Mount Eden’s lineage of estate bottled Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is the longest in California. Planted in austere, infertile Franciscan shale on a cool, exposed mountaintop, these low-yielding estate vineyards have consistently produced world-class wines for over a half-century. In 2007 Mount Eden acquired an additional 55 acre wine estate in the Saratoga foothills, which was christened Domaine Eden.
Mount Eden Vineyards also produces non-estate Chardonnays from the central coast, primarily Edna Valley. They have great success making Chardonnay from the Wolff Vineyard and are continually recognized as making outstanding wines from that region.
Since 1981 Jeffrey Patterson has guided the winemaking and grape growing at Mount Eden. His emphasis is on wine growing rather than winemaking; and an obsession with gentleness and naturalness in the handling of the grapes and wines is his ongoing passion.
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 rugged and topographically diverse cool-climate appellation with a rich history, the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA stretches from Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco, to the northern border of Monterey County. Elevations range from 800 feet to upwards of 3,000 and microclimates vary substantially depending on which side of the mountains the vineyards lie; cool ocean winds and fog play an important role here. This can be a challenging region in which to grow grapes, but it is well worth the effort. Santa Cruz Mountains wines are noted for balanced acidity levels, often showing great aging potential. Wine has been made here since the 1800s, most notably from the legendary Ridge Vineyards, whose Monte Bello vineyard garners international admiration.
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are the stars of this region, while Merlot and Zinfandel also perform quite well. Organic and sustainable vineyard practices are becoming increasingly common.