Pinot Noir

For nearly 25 years, Rhys has been quietly making wine out of the underappreciated Santa Cruz Mountains. There is a delightful, earthy quality to this Pinot suggesting subdued fruit, green and black tealeaf and pomegranate. The acidity is spot on supporting the fruit along with the mild use of oak and the wines’ inherent tannic structure. However, this deviates from a lot of traditional bright-fruit-dominate California Pinot Noir because the Santa Cruz Mountains brings forth a brambly, earth equality that most other regions cannot attain. Their Mt.

This is a Pinot Noir from Argentina.  Pale Ruby in color, clear at the rim, clear and bright.  The nose has black cherries, slight blueberries and a bit of dried herbal notes.  Medium bodied.  Nice texture.  On the palate, cherries with a touch of sandalwood.  Light tannins.  Long finish.  This is nice on its own but would be even better with food.  A nice wine to serve with roasted duck or chicken.  Drink over the next five years.  

This is the inaugural vintage of this wine which tries to offer a bit of price relief while producing a quality Pinot Noir.  For the most part, they succeed.  It is a lighter in style Pinot.  Pale ruby  in color with slight blue hues, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, cinnamon, spice and just a slight menthol note.  Medium bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, cherries, bitter cherries and slight spice.  Moderate finish.  It lists 13.8%abv on the label.  This is nice but better with a bit of food.  It should work nicely with fried appetizers.  Drink over the next five yea

Not many family-run business can claim over 300 years in business, but the Saget family starting working with wine back in 1790. And leave it to the French to produce a very enjoyable Pinot Noir for under $20. Created in a lighter style this Pinot, at this price point, is a very good value and provides good quality fruit, tannic structure, and acidity. It offers red raspberry, light strawberry, delicate cherry, cranberry, worn leather, resin, a mild earthiness and a suggestion of cola. The wine is seamlessly blended and therefore drinks well.

This is 100% Pinot Noir from northern Chile.  Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has sour cherries with a bit of sandalwood.  Medium  bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, cherries and sour cherries.  Easy drinking.  Good finish.  This is nice on its own and would work well with grilled salmon.  Drink over the next five to seven years.  

FIOL was only founded in 2010 but has since created a strong following. Their 2021 iteration is a blend of 15% Pinot Noir and 85% Glera, which together create creamy bubbles that lead into a soft and pleasant patch of strawberry, raspberry, light lemon notes, hints of cranberry and red delicious apple. This is not an overly complicated wine, it is deceptively simple, and simple sometimes is difficult to create. This is a very enjoyable wine, especially during the summer months when all you want is something pleasing and flavorful.

A moody Pinot Noir, this offers deeper expressive fruit, easy drinkability and makes for a solid food companion (I had this with pesto pasta but the suggestions are quite extensive – game, duck, salmon, hearty vegetarian, etc.). This presents black cherry, blackberry, plum, and light rhubarb with back notes of dried tealeaf, wildflowers, cola and sandalwood. The specific use of Pommard clones gives this some darker fruit elements.

This is a sparkling Rosé from Burgundy made from Pinot Noir grapes.  JCB stands for Jean-Charles Boisset who was born in 1969.  The label states this wine is "Flamboyant-Vibrant-Sensual."  Salmon colored with lots of tiny bubbles, clear and bright.  The nose has cranberries, pomegranate, and a bit of a schmaltz (chicken fat) note.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, cherries, some cranberries and a slight bitter cherry note.  Good finish.  This is drinking well on its own but would be better with food.  It would be a nice match with grilled Salmon.  Drink over the next couple of years.  

This is really a classic California Pinot Noir, offering bright expressive fruit, easy drinkability and a good food companion. Black cherry, rhubarb, cherry compote, blackberry jam, dominate and there are back notes of light floral, vanilla, and cherry cream pie. This is not a difficult Pinot to grapple with, it is straightforward enjoyment that makes your day better. An array of oak was used - only 11 months in total - with a variety of new and older barrels, which allows the wine to retain its brightness and liveliness while having structure and light tannins. Enjoy now through 2026.

What’s unusual about this iteration of Pinot from Kosta Browne is that it really straddles the line between an earthy mineral driven Pinot noir, and a more traditional California style of bright strawberry and bright red fruits. Perhaps that’s no surprise as the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA has enough diverse soils to produce intriguing fruit and diurnal swings due to its close proximity to the Pacific Ocean. This Pinot works and works very well.