Winemaker Notes
Pinot Noir is such an intriguing wine, often changing “styles” from vintage to vintage. Usually our Estate Pinot is broad and somewhat muscular; this vintage is ethereal and musical with delicate, nuanced, soft red fruit aromas. The weight on the palate is building with enticing flavors of wintergreen, mint, and boysenberry. Years like 2016 reward patient cellaring. Prime examples such as 1996, 2000 and 2006 have all started their life focused on complexity rather than power. With time, the mid-palate grows and the magical savoriness of Pinot Noir shines.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Pinot Noir Estate opens with a broad, perfumed and classic nose of dehydrated strawberry, Earl Grey tea, dried herbs and rose petal aromas. The palate is dark and voluptuous, with robust fruit flavors framed by tangy acidity and fine-grained, drying tannins. This fragrant, herbal and savory vintage is a favorite from the modern era at Mount Eden, and I look forward to watching it over the next decade or more.
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Wine Enthusiast
Roasted red plums, minty tarragon, roasted herbs and a hint of game show on the complex nose of this bottling from a mountainside legend. Those layers emerge on the palate too, floating from raspberry to thyme and anise to peppered meats, with loads of savory depth.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2016 Mount Eden Vineyards Pinot Noir exhibits a nice intermix of the Old and New Worlds. TASTING NOTES: This wine is a food and wine lovers' wine. Its evocative aromas and flavors of red fruit and savory spices should pair famously with grilled lamb chops. (Tasted: August 19, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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.