Today’s wine was definitely a very nice treat. Central Coast California Pinot at its best. Well okay, almost at its best ;-). It was produced by Belle Glos Wines, a label of the Caymus Vineyards Empire, in Rutherford, CA. The grapes were grown on the almost 40 years old Clarke & Telephone vineyard (own root Martini clones on sandy loam soils) in Santa Maria Valley. The ageing period was relatively short. Just 9 months in French oak.
The colour in my glass is dark, thick red with some almost brown’ish reflexes. The nose appeaed to be very complex and highly sophisticated in its special fleshy way. I sense plenty of dark cherries, well aged forest strawberries, mild roasting scents, earth, thyme, basil, some black pepper, double plus violets and other flowery fragrances. Definitely a darker and strong Pinot so far! But aristocratic and gentle attributes provide this wine with a fantastically beguiling nose. The taste was very dense, pretty spicy and quite fleshy (perhaps this time a bit less than 6 months ago). The structure was very powerful, the oak influence was subtly mild, the acid very lively and well balanced and the fruit sweetness was very precise and very dry (no indications of over ripeness, kitsch, marmalade or tons of residual). The 14,1 % alcohol were an actor in the background, so not real complaints about this either. The actual flavours I got were dense cherries, some of the already mentioned forest strawberries, hints of cappuccino, maybe traces of plums, dark choco, hints of black pepper, black earth, Californian winter greenery, some foliage and on top very long and aristocratic aromas of violets (or an entire flower bouquet). In conclusion: a very fine, absolutely not dull, rich in complex flavours and almost vigorous Pinot.
Ahh, by the way … I should not forget to mention the fantastic and very beautiful looking wax top with its very handy pull strip tab. Great idea!
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