Winemaker Notes
Try pairing with duck, Thanksgiving turkey, pork, seared BC salmon and rack of lamb served with a ragout of French lentils.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Quails' Gate Family Reserve Pinot Noir shows excellent depth and focus on the palate and in its finish. TASTING NOTES: This wine is vivid and bright with aromas and flavors of red and blackberries. Enjoy it with roast duck in a white wine reduction sauce. (Tasted: July 7, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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Decanter
Pretty and floral, with additional aromas of anise, cranberry and red cherry. Palate is concentrated and bright, woven with oak and fine tannins.
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.”
Located just north of the state of Washington, British Columbia includes five distinct Geographical Indications; its vineyards mostly surround the cities of Vancouver and Victoria and include a few more inland locations. The region grows about 80 different varieties including Pinot gris, Chardonnay and Riesling as well as Merlot, Pinot noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.