Winemaker Notes
Rich, bing cherry, raspberry, plum, and roses – the 2018 Santa Clara Valley Pinot Noir is a bouquet of red fruit and flowers. The bright red fruit aromas and flavors jump to the nose and palate with a hint of sage. A touch of vanilla bean and spice from the barrels both fill out the “middle” and complete the long finish.
Winemaker Tim Slater suggests pairing grilled salmon with a beurre blanc sauce, a simple roast chicken and grilled vegetables, or a pancetta-wrapped pork tenderloin.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Sarah's Vineyard Dwarf is attractive, nicely built, and ready to drink. TASTING NOTES: This wine excels with lovely aromas and flavors of candied berries and licorice. Pair it with Thai basil chicken over sesame rice. (Tasted: October 9, 2021, 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.”
Home to some of California’s most influential winemaking pioneers of the late 1800s, Paul Masson and Charles Lefranc, the Santa Clara Valley AVA hugs up against the southwestern border of today’s famous Silicon Valley and excels in the production of bold reds, as well as some whites.