Pinot Noir

Central Coast of CA is dreamy terroir for Pinot Noir.

 

Sea Smoke is one of my favorite.

Kai

 

Corked? Bad bottle?

 

Yep. The transformation of what was formerly grazing land (at most) on rolling hills in SLO County to wine grapes in last quarter century is absolutely amazing. Grapes of Wrath they ain't.

When I was a kid, coming from inland to Cayucos & Morro Bay, only grapes in County were just as one arrived in Paso Robles - then through Atascadero. Back then, the only thing worth looking at in Atascadero was some giant *graffiti on the side of a shed - which shaped my humor from then on . . .

*King Kong Died For Your Sins.


via rubber ducky

 

I like La Crema pinot sold at Costco and markets as a simple everyday wine. However, we exp a big diff between 09 vs 2011, 09 was so much smoother.

Santa Ynez area (Lompoc, Buelton, Los Olivos) produce nice pinots. Babcock and Melville come to mind.

 

Have been slowly enjoying my case of Belle Glos from las alturas, 2009 vintage. Highly recommend but let me grab a few more bottles of it first

 

If you're in Texas, they have Total Wine & More outlets in Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio. If you're not close to those outlets, I'm confident there are similar stores in the state. Total Wine has a great diverse collection of wines from around the world (as well as spirits). The cool part is they group the wines by grape, so you can compare pinots (or cabernets or chardonnays, etc.) from every wine region in the US (foreign wines are grouped separately). They will also note those that have received ratings from Wine Spectator and others.

As noted, California's topography is uniquely suited to several grapes. For pinots, the Russian River Valley, Santa Lucia, Santa Rita and the Sonoma Coast are all great areas; Santa Barbara County (where they filmed the move "Sideways" and which was focused on consuming Pinot) through the Monterey coast also has some excellent brands. A good number are high quality without the cost of the finer cabernets. We especially like some of the Monterey County pinots. Another tough grape to grow that creates excellent table wine are Zinfandels from the CA Gold Rush counties if you wanted to expand with similar tastes and quality.

We lived near Napa and Sonoma for several years, and were forced to acquire the wine drinking habit in self defense...rule of thumb is to buy and drink what you like no matter what someone else may say.

Second rule is that the right wine can really enhance the right foods, so experiment with lighter wines with snacks, fruit and cheese, rieslings with salads (even steak salads and meal-size portions) and pinots with game meat.

Third rule might be to go to a shop that sells wine as a primary product (I love Trader Joe's but might not buy wine there unless we were having a big party and just wanted some serviceable bottles).

Regards, Bob H

 

Your Daughter is completley right.

Pinot is very delicate and difficult to blend consistently. This is why it's one of the most expensive French wines ... everyone thinks Bordeaux are the expensive ones, but try getting your self a 1978 Chambertin or Grand Exhezau... ouch!

Cali wines are the same ... the soil and heating / cooling of the grapes drives the sugar content - and the flavor of the wine.

too much water - dilutes the sugar and then the wine has trouble producing alcohol ... which results in bitter juice and no acid= no flavor.

Pinot likes dry - gravely rocky hillsides, with morning sun and later afternoon shade. good drainage and moderate temperatures... 40s to low 80's.. is ideal = Northern Cali coast....or the Burgandy - Rhone river valley in France.

 

SLO is the place for Pinot, what was a sleepy little area has turned into what seems like the Pinot capitol of the world! Hundreds of wineries making great Pinot. Lots of interesting micro climates,Cal Poly, the Atascadero mental institution and near the death site of James Dean they have it all!

 

Here's a Pinot Noir primer for those interested:

1. The grape is VERY site specific, probably the most site specific of any variety. It MUST be grown in cooler areas. In California, some of the best areas are: Carneros, Russian River, Sonoma Coast, Monterey, Sta. Rita Hills.
2. Physically, the berry is small, thin skinned, and the cluster is very tight. The thin skin and tight cluster make the grape very suseptable to bunch rot if it gets rained on
3. Pinot Noir is VERY sensitive to handling in the winery. It does not like being pumped for one thing, many Pinot wineries operate by gravity (until bottling where it has to be pumped).

In the FWIW category, "Sideways" was a 2 edged sword. It turned folks on to a great grape, conversely, it unintentionally killed (for a couple of years) a great grape in Merlot. Sadly, all the folks who WERE making crappy, commodity Merlot now make crappy, commodity Pinot Noir...wines grown in the wrong place and made badly. There is an ocean of mediocre Pinot out there, choose carefully. It is notable that after the Merlot comment in the movie, the main character was asked about his favorite wine and he answered Chateau Cheval Blanc, a blend of Cabernet Franc and MERLOT. This was an intentional joke by the movie makers, sadly, it's a joke that breezed over most people's heads.

Jimmy

 

Just posted another wine response, but figured I'd chime in here as well.

Central Coast pinots are great, and especially the SLH ones are becoming very popular (and pricey). But sooo good. Pence Ranch is a little producer that just started and is making some waves.

Personally, I love Pinot and think it's a great wine to drink with guests who may not be "into" wine but appreciate a good one. Not a huge fan of the 15%+ alcohol trend, which seems to be a trend with some of these central coast ones.

In particular I loooove Garnet Vineyards' Monterey and Carneros offerings. Pretty sure both are in Costco. At $15 and $19 respectively, they are the best value. Seriously good juice. Garnet Vineyards - Estate-grown "New World" Pinot Noir & Chardonnay and The Wine Cask Blog: Garnet Monterey County Pinot Noir 2010 Wine Review (NW) has a good review if interested.

 

Yes central CA coast Pinot Noir is the way to go. Some of my favorites: Sea Smoke, Melville, Pisoni.

I used to really like the Oregon Pinots (e.g., Domaine Drouhin), but they've fallen out of favor.

 

Williams Seylem is one of the best. Took us years to get on their list to buy from the winery. Most of the wine is sold to restaurants. Try it. You will love it.

Williams Selyem

 

If you have not sampled some of the Pinot coming out of New Zealand in the past several years, I suggest you give them a try. A very nice entry level is the Saint Clair Family Estate's "Vicar's Choice". I have had 08 and 09 versions of this wine, and I bought a case of the 2010 and it is drinking well. About $ 23. Screw cap. There are higher end wines, many from the Central Otago. Will post others if there is interest.

 

DL. Could you please post a little more about your comment "fallen out of favor'? The 2010 vintage has produced some terrific wines...smaller yields and somewhat higher pricing, but I continue to believe that Oregon offers the overall best QPR pinot drinking available.

 

Here's a snippet of a review for the Garnet:
"This folks is possibly one of the best Pinot Noir wines I've had from the Carneros region in sometime and by far one of the very best values you will come across any time soon. My hat is off to their winemaker, Alison Crowe for a job well done; feel free to connect with her @alisoncrowewine if you have any questions.

I wouldn't doddle too long if I were you, I've just seen the review by the Huffington Post epic wine reviewer Richard Jennings, who gave this wine 92 points today on Cellar Tracker; which is consistent with Wilfred Wong's own score and of course with my own score of 93 points." read more here: Cuvée Corner Wine Blog : Wine of the Week: 2010 Garnet Vineyards Carneros Pinot Noir

I agree that the Oregon Pinots are a bit funkier/earthier, and I recently had a Domaine Drouhin as well. I wouldn't say I disliked it, but it was...different. Same for Domaine Serene...another highly regarded OR winery.

Any other suggestions for $20-30 Central Coast ones?

 

I am a big Pinot fan, consumer mostly, slight expert.

Pinot's I like,

Lafond - Part of the Santa Barbra Wine Company
Au Bon Climat
Foxen
Meiomi - Caymus family
J Vinyards
Carr Vinyards
Gary Ferrell
Jayson
Foley Estates
Byron
Testarossa

Enjoy,

MB

 

Jean-Jacques Girard Bourgogne '09 has been the best Pinot Noir I've had, but its hard to find. Its on the wine list at Canoe Restaurant in Atlanta.

For a cheap bottle its tough to beat Mirassou!

There are lots of decent Pinot Noir's out there, but you have to swim through a sea of crap to find them.

 

Anyone tried the Sea Smoke Pinot? Seems to be popping up all over the place and has high remarks...

 

LOVE IT!

I have a case at home and snatch them up at wine auctions whenever I can.

The only red wine my wife drinks.


Kai

 

Had a bottle of Shane's The Charm 2010 pinot noir. Fantastic wine. Beautiful bouquet, prominent dark cherries, spices, plums flavors with a balanced and structured tannins.