![]() ![]() This news story really only picks fault with Pinot Noir producers, but I see the problem as being widespread throughout the world (but mainly in California), in wineries of all shapes and sizes. Personally, I think there’s a HUGE problem with wineries releasing wines whilst the ink is essentially “still wet on the label,” but once again, we need to remind ourselves that a winery is also a BUSINESS!Īs ideal as it would be for wineries to hold onto their bottles until they personally believe it’s time to drink, it must be extremely tough to pull that off, at least when a winery is first starting out! Imagine investing a huge amount of money in a winery and not being able to sell your product for 4-5 years!?!? That’s a concept that’s unfathomable for most businesses! Clouds Rest release their wines so late, most reviewers don’t know what to make of them!Ĭlick here for the full article from Īs I said, this is a topic that’s been on my “to do list” for a while now. In fact the winery’s now-spectacular 2006 pinot noir, also $100, is still available from the winery. “ The wine wasn’t really ready to be enjoyed then, and we won’t compromise on that,” he said. True, at $100 a bottle this is one of the priciest of pinots, but as owner John Saemann notes, had this wine been released three years ago (as many wineries did), it too would have been backward and hard to appreciate. The winery has just released its 2007 pinot noir. It therefore came as a shock to me when I recently visited Clouds Rest Vineyards, a tiny producer atop a west-facing ridge on Sonoma Mountain. Tasting many of the 2010 pinots recently, that particular phrase came to mind! Many are tasty (partially a result of the cool temperatures throughout California that particular year), but terribly “backward.” In fact, some of the most expensive pinots, selling for $60+ a bottle, are so young that even these wineries’ 2009’s aren’t yet developed to the point where they are drinkable compared with what they’ll be in two to four more years. 208 Clouds Rest, Limited Release, Sonoma Coast, 2005 120 209 Reata, El Diablo Vineyard Russian. Before then it’s like robbing the cradle.” Pinot Noir 62 Sonoma-Cutrer, Russian River Valley. ![]() I’ve heard winemakers and wine geeks say: “ A pinot noir isn’t wine until it’s five years old. This is an issue I’ve been contemplating writing about for a few years now, but it appears Dan Berger beat me to the punch! He writes: ![]()
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