Pinot Noir is aptly known as the teenager of wines. A moody grape that can mesmerise or irritate the hell out of you even when created from the same vines. Although it takes a Master WineMaker to create a good Pinot Noir, Boy Can an excellent one blow you out of the water. We attended a session on Pinot Noir from California at the 40th Vancouver International Wine Festival which we attended recently. Check out this list of Pinot Noir from California and do try to get your hands on a bottle if possible.
Read about why you should visit the Vancouver International Wine Festival
Napa Valley
Napa Valley is one of the famed wine regions of California. Written about quite a bit and visited quite often, Napa Valley has established itself as one of the premier New World Wine regions. Let’s check out the Pinot Noir from California that we tried out from Napa Valley.
Read more about the Napa Valley Wine Train
The Reserve Carneros ’13 from the famed Robert Mondavi Winery was probably one of the best ones on the list. It has a complex flavour filled with wild, red and dark berries but what sets this wine apart is the subtle hints of spices like vanilla and pepper. During crushing the grapes are separated into two groups: Only berries for enhancing the fruitiness and With Stems to add the hints of herb and spice. You can also find this wine in Delhi NCR with Lakeforest Wines.
The Pinot Noir is a notoriously difficult grape to grow but the foggy, windswept regions of the Los Carneros Valley makes for the perfect conditions. The Black Stallion Winery is located on the famous Silverado trail (I am planning an article on the same) and it’s Pinot Noir ‘16 is a lush and voluptuous wine with notes of strawberries and cherries. Talking of cherries, the Cherry Pie Winery Stanly Ranch Pinot Noir ‘14 is a medley of fruit flavours. There is literally a sweet jam like raspberry flavour and cherry cola unbridled by the spices that seem to take second place in this wine. Etude Wines specializes in producing Pinot Noir at it’s Grace Benoist Ranch in the North West part of Los Carneros. The ‘15 vintage is a melange of fruits with an oaky, buttery texture without any overt jamminess. The journey of Pinot Noir is aptly captured in words by Founder and Wine Maker Tony Soter “There is no better vehicle with which to study or practice the craft of winemaking than Pinot Noir.”
Sonoma Coast
Although Napa Valley has imposed itself as America’s premier wine destination by winning the Judgement of Paris in 1984, one region that produces good quality wines is the Sonoma County which is broadly divided into a few regions: Sonoma Coast, Russian River Valley and Alexander River Valley among others. One of the oldest vineyards on the Sonoma Coast is the Beringer Vineyards, established way back in 1876. The Pinot Noir ‘15 I tasted here has some dark and red fruits on the palate along with prominent tannins very akin to Black Tea. For some softer tannins, the Lake Sonoma Winery ‘14 is highly recommended. It has some fruity notes of orange, cherries and even lilacs along with some White Pepper and Cinnamon.
Anderson Valley
Lined up against the coast, the Anderson Valley is a small stretch of land, about 20 miles long but it’s cool climate makes for some award-winning Pinot Noir and Chardonnay along with some sparkling wines. The wines here display a characteristic fruity character; aptly displayed in the Jackson Estate Outland Ridge Pinot Noir ‘14 from Kendall Jackson Winery with hints of citrusy orange along with raspberry, strawberry and blueberry overtones. The “Goldeneye Pinot Noir ‘14” from Duckhorn Winery adds on with layers of earthy flavour of leather.
Russian River Valley
One of the regions of the world which owes it’s flavour profile to the fog that sweeps in from the Pacific coastline. Pretty similar to the “Mistral” of France and “Tramontana” of Italy, this fog airs the vines and provides a cool temperature for ripening to arrest during the night. The three wines that we tried out were the Pinot Noir ‘15 from J Vineyards, Fog Veil ‘15 from La Crema Vineyards and The Calling ‘15 from Deutsch Family Wines. The Fog Veil ‘15 impresses with its balance of acidity and tannins with a dominant flavour of plums.
The Pinot Noir from California is a superlative group of wines that impresses on multiple levels. Do let us know about your favorite Pinot Noir or Californian wine in the comments below.
