100% Pinot Noir from Carneros, Napa Valley, California.
SRP of $40 and available for as low as $35 (Saturday Splurge). Sample submitted for review.
From the bottle:
"Harvested at night to preserve fruit integrity, this Pinot Noir was hand-picked from two of the finest vineyard blocks on our Carneros Estate. Gravelly soils and low vigor vines produce fruit clusters with concentrated flavors and elegant terroir character. Aged in French oak barrels for 10 months, aromas and flavors of bright cherry, strawberry, lavender and rose petal are balanced with a touch of oak and supple acidity.
14.3% Alcohol"
Artesa Winery is owned by the Codorniu family of Spain, a name you might associate with sparkling wine, or cava specifically. (For example, the Anna de Codorniu Cava Brut - Crazy for Cava, which was part of our Holiday Sparklers series this year.) In fact, Artesa Winery was originally conceived to produce sparkling wine. However, as times changed it was reinvented into a top of the line still wine production facility, a move that wasn't a huge stretch for the family. Despite being the largest cava producer in the world, the Codorniu family knows much more than sparkling wine with wine properties throughout Spain, Italy, Argentina and California. And based on today's wine they know Pinot Noir quite well.
The 2009 Artesa Estate Reserve Carneros Napa Valley Pinot Noir begins with an excellent aroma of raspberry, red and black cherry, spice and a little pleasant cedar note. Tasting the medium-bodied wine reveals a silky smooth texture with succulent fruit flavors of mixed berry and black cherry and a wonderful layer of peppery spice that lasts all the way through to the finish. This is a very easy to drink Pinot Noir yet it still offers a good deal of complexity making it appealing to just about everyone. It ends dry with sweet berry flavors and more peppery spice that lasts a good long time in the mouth. Excellent!
See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
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