Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A vivid pinot with soaked crabapples, blueberry skin, citrus and raspberry fool. Medium-bodied with lots of fresh fruit, firm tannins, bright acidity and a tangy finish. Very pretty. Drink now.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2016 Talley Estate Pinot Noir takes the best attributes of both the Old and New Worlds. TASTING NOTES: This wine is authentic Pinot Noir. Its aromas and flavors of bright and sassy red fruits and savory spices should pair nicely with a well-spiced Porchetta. (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.”
One of the coolest growing areas in California, the Arroyo Grande Valley runs from the southwest to the northeast, just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean and is part of the Central Coast AVA. Situated so that cold Pacific Ocean air and fog is allowed to filter into the valley, Arroyo Grande also has an incredibly long growing season. Bud break occurs in February in most years with flowering in May and harvest in late September; the area is classified as cool Mediterranean.
These weather factors combined with the soil types—continental and marine rocks, greywacke, limestone, shale and volcanic—create wines with great concentration and fresh acidity. The cooler end of the valley is perfect for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and is a good producer of sparkling wines. The warmer, more inland part of the valley is home to some of California’s oldest Zinfandel vines.