In the mouth the wine offers bright, juicy flavors of cedar and red apple skin stretched smooth and taut over a faintly dusty core. $n/aĪ light ruby orange color in the glass with a faint haze to it, this wine smells beautifully of red apple skin, sweet cedar wood, and wonderfully warm red fruit. So without further ado, here’s what I liked.ġ998 Au Bon Climat “La Bauge a Dessus” Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley. There’s nothing like older Pinot Noir, especially when it’s made with the deft hands of a zealot like Jim Clendenen. Of course, the highest rated wine from the tasting, was an older vintage of Au Bon Climat, which would have been hard for any current release to compete with in its aged hues and aromas. I will be bringing you the story of this winery in another post, but you shouldn’t wait until then to go out and buy some, as there may be none left by then. The highlight of the tasting was my personal discovery of the wines from the young winery Presqu’ile, whose second vintage of two extraordinary wines were a head-turning combination of elegance, brightness, and finesse. I’ve written already about a couple of the seminars I attended there (one about younger Burgundy producers, the other about the now infamous alcohol and balance seminar), and offered some tasting notes from some of the international Pinot Noirs I tasted, but it’s taken me some time to write up my notes from the Grand Tasting event.īut I recently had the benefit of a long flight and a decent night’s sleep that got me the few hours I needed to tabulate, organize, and publish my scores for more than 100 Pinot Noirs that I tasted over the course of a couple afternoons. Well known for its festive atmosphere and an emphasis (though not an exclusive focus by any means) on showcasing the Pinot Noirs of the Central Coast, WOPN, as it is abbreviated, draws Pinot Noir lovers from across the country. Back at the beginning of March, I joined several hundred other wine enthusiasts for the World of Pinot Noir, a two day festival celebrating Pinot Noir set in the idyllic seaside tourist town of Shell Beach. I don’t know about you, but spending a couple of days tasting Pinot Noir while strolling along cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean is definitely my idea of a good time.
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