Winemaker Notes
Talbott Pinot Noir, Diamond T Vineyard is made using a selection of the finest Dijon clone grapes from our Diamond T Vineyard. It has a deep, vibrant color and aromas of ripe fruit and exotic spices. The palate provides rich flavors of cherry, plum and spice, with clean, crisp acidity and supple tannins. Aging in 80 percent new French oak has contributed to the tannin structure, as well as the complexity of this wine, which concludes with a round, lingering finish. This wine is a cool-climate Pinot Noir that shows the power and elegance of the Diamond T Vineyard.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Baked red plum, black cherry, sagebrush, graphite and budding hibiscus aromas show on the rich and minerally nose of this bottling. The palate is very inviting and lavish, with pungent dark red fruits of cherry and black plum enhanced by allspice, ginger and black pepper.
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 geographic and climatic paradise for grape vines, Monterey is a part of the greater Central Coast AVA and contains within it five smaller sub-appellations, including Arroyo Seco, San Lucas, San Bernabe, Hames Valley and the famous Santa Lucia Highlands. The climate is relatively warm but tempered by cool, coastal winds, allowing the regions in Monterey County an exceptionally long growing season. Bud break often happens two weeks sooner and harvest tends to be two weeks later compared to other surrounding regions.
Monterey’s coastal side, where the cooling ocean fog allows grapes to develop a perfect sugar-acid balance, excels in the production of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Warmer, inland subzones are home to fleshy, concentrated and full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel.
Chardonnay, covering about 40% of vineyard acreage, is the most widely planted grape in all of Monterey County.