Pinot Noir is loved the world over. Its origins lie in Burgundy but America is actually the second-largest producer of Pinot Noir in the world. Most of that production in the USA is Californian Pinot Noir. Join me for a blind tasting.
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🥂 Wines featured in this episode:
The Hilt, Estate Pinot Noir 2020 https://rebrand.ly/the-hilt-pinot-noir
Small Vines, Pinot Noir 2018 (link is for 2019) https://rebrand.ly/small-vines-pinot-noir
Alma Rosa, El Jabali Pinot Noir 2020
Sojourn, Pinot Noir 2021 https://rebrand.ly/sojourn-pinot-noir
Barra, Pinot Noir Reserve 2021
Bouchaine, Estate Pinot Noir 2019
Lucas & Lewellen, High 9 Goodchild Vineyard Pinot Noir 2018
00:00 Pinot Noir in California
03:01 Blind Tasting Pinot Noir
09:07 The Reveal
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#pinotnoir #california #redwine
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29 Comments
Never tried Californian Pinot Noir 😮
Oregon and italy
Nice tasting! I always start with Carneros (Etude, Saintsbury to name a couple) and then move a bit north to Russian River Valley and Sanoma Coast. These can get a bit pricey, so always on the lookout for good value.
Santa Rita Hills in Santa Barbara County produces some very elegant Pinot Noir.
I’m a big Oregon pinot fan…but I guuuuuuuessss i’ll just have to try CA pinot now 😆
I always appreciate the hard work you put into your videos and your honesty. And I also have to say often times my tastes tend to align a lot with yours. I don't 'hate' PN, but it's just not a varietal I drink a lot. Over all it's just not quite my style. I can appreciate it's a hard wine to make and that some people really love it. When I do drink it, one of my go to PN is the Sandhi from the Santa Rita Hills.
That was a really good representation of CA pinot noir from respectable regions. I also agree with Alma Rosa. I think once Richard's hands are no longer in the winemaking maybe they lose that something special. So much great pinot noir in California. It's also incredibly consistent vintage by vintage, which IMO can't really be said about Burgundy and especially Italy.
I have tried two Pinot Noirs from California, one from Napa Valley and the other from Sonoma.They were very good and different, both were really enjoyable.
Have had some great California Pinot and some not so great. While I like a delicate "feminine" pinot, I don't like when CA producers try too hard to create a lighter wine (I'm looking at you Santa Barbara). As for the use of feminine adjectives, I'm not totally against it but I do think it is overused, becomes a crutch, and doesn't tell me a whole lot about what a wine tastes and smells like.
I had some CA Pinot Noir early in my drinking career. Can't remember the producers but I know I had some from Russian River Valley that I liked. On another note, are you travelling to/in Germany now? Can we expect some long awaited Riesling content soon??
yes, those words most definitely should be used
Sojourn make amazing wines! Russian River Valley is the gold spot. Some great Cali Pinots. The problem are those dark, super oaked wines that you cant tell if is Pinot Noir or a Cote du Rhone, or a bad vinified Cornas….
Nice tasting. Unfortunately, I'm drinking a highly disappointing Santa Maria Valley pinot right now. I had high hopes. You win some you lose some.
Two very good, pretty consistent producers in the Santa Cruz Mountains – Mt. Eden and Thomas Fogarty – make some really nice pinots.
🤔 Feminine to describe a wine? I don't think that makes sense. I can see pretty being a descriptor but a highly subjective one. I'm not sure how helpful it would be to say a wine is "pretty". I've had some red blends that I could say were "pretty" but that could mean something completely different to me than it does to you.
Freestone-occidental! LOVE littorai. You’ve mentioned that you don’t like them, which surprises me. Not that everyone should love their wines… I just usually find myself agreeing with you, so am puzzled by what you don’t like about them (nb, I have zero affiliation with Littorai aside from being a customer)
In my experiences California Pinot noir is always sweet. Burgundy never is. Oregon pinot noirs is more like Burgundy
Why not use feminine, we also use masculine, to describe things.
Russian River and Sonoma Coast are favorite PN regions in California . And I know that’s expensive . But KB makes some of the best Pinots and Chardonnays . Cheers !
I think Anderson Valley makes great Pinot Noir. Walt’s Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley is so good. Very elegant.
Thankyou for sharing…Yes, you do need to come out for a visit! When?
You said "armanians" and LA and immediatly Barry's theme song started in my head.
Nice tasting.
Thanks for the video. I first fell in love with wine on a trip to Sonoma, staying in a little house at the mouth of the Russian River. My tastes have branched out to all sorts of styles from all over the world, but I'll always have a soft spot for the wines that turned me into a full on wine lover: Pinot and Chardonnay from Sonoma Coast and RRV. It's great to see them coming out on to of your tasting.. So many great producers out there, but as you point out, not cheap! The best ones are worth it though, I think.
Use all words you want 😊 Hope you find your way to Serbia again
I’m most familiar with Sonoma Pinot Noir as I’m in Northern California and now looking to try out more near Santa Barbara.
Mathew,
Are you on tweeter?
Ahhh, Californian PN a very interesting and unfortunately a pretty expensive option and question nowadays. I remember back when I did my WSET L2 course here in Taiwan back in '13/14 our instructor was giving us a class on PN and she said something rather interesting. I don't remember word for word what she said, but something along the line of "in California the elegant and dainty princess of Pinot Noir becomes a Transformer Robot Barbie".
That was obviously a blanket statement and an overgeneralization of the Cali PN scene, and I am sure it's changed a lot over the past 10 years. I do remember that I wasn't very impressed with the Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs in class at the time, I did like the Aussie and Kiwis ones more. My palate has evolved since then and I have had a Cali PN or two and enjoyed them. The big problem is the price, as whatever it's selling for over there, here it's going to be double, if not triple the price.
So I generally stick to South African or Kiwi PN, if I want something decent that isn't going to break the bank. German Spatburgunder is becoming more available and affordable now. I think my palate goes more towards the cooler regions of Santa Barbara County and the Sonoma Coast.
Hey Dr, can you please do a video on Northern us and ontario hybrid reds? There are some super steller ones!
Love Small Vines! Had an amazing visit last year. Cheers !