Lot 952 2021 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Ready to drink, homerun Pinot Noir from an epic source in the Russian River Valley. This $34 Pinot Noir drinks like a $60 bottle.
Lot 952 2021 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir comes charging out of the gate in ready-to-drink fashion. It’s sourced from an epic vineyard run by the nicest mom-and-pop farmers who harvest pristine grapes from their special site in the fog-shrouded rolling hills of southern Russian River Valley in the Sebastopol area.
What got our attention immediately is that this wine is absolutely classic Russian River. Dark berry fruit, earth, cola, and cedarwood notes—the latter being hallmarks of aging in expensive French oak from excellent coopers, including the likes of Bel Air, François Frères, and Sirugue. These are top-of-the-line barrels often reserved for a winery’s flagship Pinot Noir—ones that cost $60-$160, and yes, you read that right! Lot 952 is already strutting its stuff, showing off those classic Russian River qualities with secondary notes emerging like black tea and truffles. Translation: this is ready for you to enjoy right now and at $34, trust us when we say this drinks like a wine double the price. Because it should be double the price. But not for you—and that’s why you’re a CH Wine fan!
Watch or listen as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes walks us through a tasting.
Wine Tasting Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:35 In the Glass
00:58 The Nose
01:40 The Palate
02:17 Food Pairing
02:32 Where in your cellar?
Lot 922 2021 Santa Barbara Pinot Noir
We have to admit that whenever there is a Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir on the table, we know we’re at the right table—belonging there just as much as the Russian River Pinots, the Sonoma Coast bottles, and dare we say, the Burgundies! (Shhh!). Cooling Pacific Ocean breezes and limestone-rich soils create the perfect conditions for growing Pinot Noir, and it just might be the best place in the U.S. for this variety. Our new release today, Lot 922 2021 Santa Barbara Pinot Noir is no exception.
If you want to know why our passion for Santa Barbara Pinot Noir runs so deep, the answer patiently rests under the cork and capsule of Lot 922—a Santa Barbara Pinot Noir from the brilliant 2021 vintage. We struck Pinot gold here, having sourced this wine from a 25+ year veteran winemaker and grape grower of the region who has worked with super-star brands like Geyser Peak in Sonoma, Canyon Road, and the Davies family’s Schramsberg label—sure, you might know their sparkling, but what about the Davies Pinots?! They are mind-blowing, but also $55+ a pop. And with all due respect to the other regions, with Lot 922 priced at just $16 a bottle, after one taste you’ll agree that it’s the definition of mind-blowing!
Not only will your jaw drop at the price, but you will be thrilled with Lot 922 as it dances and sings on your palate. This wine draws you in with a fantastically fragrant nose of red berry fruit, earthen tones, and baking spices. It is soft, creamy-textured with an irresistible mid-palate depth of dark, juicy, succulent candied red cherry and strawberry fruit. Toasty oak spices and hints of vanilla round out the finish completing this not to be missed Pinot Noir.
Watch or listen as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes walks us through a tasting.
Wine Tasting Video Highlights:
00:00 Introduction
00:17 Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara
00:37 In the Glass
00:54 On the Nose
01:50 On the Palate
02:39 Wine and Food Pairing
03:07 Where does this fit in your cellar?
Tasting Video Transcript:
00:00:08:00 – 00:03:48:08
Chris Lafleur says
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the CH Wine Tasting Room. It’s Chris Lafleur your super sommelier, tasting some Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara County. This is Lot 922. So Santa Barbara County, we’re a little bit more southerly than places like Monterey or even Napa and Sonoma by a lot. And some people will say, well, that it’s a warmer climate.It’s going to be, you know, not great for Pinot Noir. But I say, you know, without the mountains on the western edge there, you get a lot more coastal influence. So you get a longer growing season overall and it’s great for grapes like this. Let’s go ahead and see what it looks like right away. You see it’s fairly pale, very clear.
I can see my hand right through it, but it’s leaning a little bit red and pink, like it’s still kind of youthful and very concentrated, even for a wine that is so light. I know those those sound backwards, but trust me, I am a sommelier on the nose. Oh, boy. It’s deep. It’s deep on the nose. It’s a core of red fruit with maybe a touch of black.
But really, we were driven by strawberries, cherries and raspberries, maybe even a touch of rhubarb. And if there’s any black fruit here, it’s leaning into the realm of, like, blackberry. But this is a wine that is deep. It is ripe. Maybe a little extra ripe. It feels very fresh. And while there are some other notes to it, like there’s some mushroom here and a little forest floor, but just a little there’s a little bit of vanilla bean here, but really well-integrated.
This is driven by being big, ripe and fresh. And I think that’s a fun expression for Pinot Noir. Now, I should tell you, as are smelling this and enjoying it together, this is a wine that is made by somebody with 25 plus years of experience in the industry making good quality Pinot noir. So if that’s not going to sell you on why this is so integrated and why I think it’s so cool.
I mean, the only thing left to do is taste it and confirm. Really hard to spit that one. The mouthfeel is excellent. It’s got a nice ripping acidity on the bottom, but on the palate, it is silky, it is smooth, it is languorous, it’s got great fruits that are red and strawberry and cherry. And while it does feel a little bit tartar on the palate, because the acidity coming through, it doesn’t feel like it’s lessened, lessening the fruit.
The fruit is still very deep with a very strong core of ripe red fruits on the palate. There’s also a touch of vanilla bean, like we mentioned on the nose, and it does seem to be a little stronger on the palate. I especially feel it on the finish, but I think it’s integrated very well, again, showing a hand with a lot of experience here.
So what do you do with a wine like this? Well, I think that you entertain with it. This is a great wine to pass around at a party. I also think if you’re having a barbecue in the summer with a little asparagus and some mushrooms and maybe a tenderloin, I mean, you know, not that we put all of those on the barbecue, but you could tenderloin, medium rare is perfect with this wine sprinkle a little peppercorn is some chimichurri and you’ve got to win that is very rounded for a delightful dish.
So where does this wine fit in your cellar? I think that this is a wine that you probably want a couple of bottles of minimum, because this is something that I think will change a little bit over time. The ripe fruit will integrate even more fully with the oak and the tertiary notes. I think this is something that in six months you’ll find very interesting.
You can drink it Now, certainly it’s certainly ready to drink, but I think it’ll become more interesting from here. It is December 20, 23, so think about in the summer of 2024. This is a great wine to open, but like I said, more than one bottle because as you open it in the summer, you’re going to again want to see how it evolves when we get into the colder months once more.
So make sure to get a couple, go to the website, click twice minimum on this bottle and I will see you at the next glass.
Lot 923 2021 Monterey County Pinot Noir
We have a winner for you today! 91 points. Juicy. Zesty. Full-bodied. Plush. Round and creamy. Those are just a few of the superlatives that past vintages of this Lot 923 have garnered. The source winery is based in Napa, and they are a powerhouse—they have access to some of the very best vineyard sources in all of California, especially in Monterey! And CH Wine Fans, the thing we’re not supposed to say (the thing our Sonoma friends don’t want to admit) is that Monterey might be California’s most “undersung wine region” for growing world-class Pinot Noir grapes—that’s a direct quote from the uber-lux magazine AFAR.
So, what’s the big secret? Shhh…it’s Monterey Bay’s “Blue Grand Canyon.” The positively frigid waters of Monterey Bay’s off-shore mile-deep canyon cause frigid winds to funnel inland at such profound intensity and speeds that trees are permanently bent southeast! But those cooling winds also make for perfect conditions to grow great Pinot grapes—they develop thicker skins to combat the winds, and the wines are fresh, fragrant, and powerful, with racy acidities, which is exactly how we’d describe Lot 923. Throw in heaping doses of juicy black raspberry and plum, a cache of herbs and baking spices, and plush textures. Sounds just like the heavy-bitting benchmark wines of the region from Chalone, Pisoni, Talbott, and Wente! Only some of their top wines run up to $75 per bottle.
Watch or listen as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes walks us through a tasting.
Wine Tasting Video Highlights:
00:00 Introduction
00:18 On Monterey County Pinot Noir
00:32 The Color of Lot 923
00:50 On the Nose
01:29 On the Palate
02:14 Wine and Food Pairing
02:42 Where in your cellar?
Tasting Video Transcript:
00:00:08:01 – 00:03:24:15
Chris Lafleur says
Hi, Everyone. Welcome back to the CH Wine Tasting Room. I’m Chris Lafleur. You’re super sommelier. We’re going to be tasting Lot 923, a Monterey Pinot Noir. So let’s go ahead and have a look. Monterey, of course, really pretty. If you’re in San Francisco, it’s worth taking a trip down to go whale watching. I don’t know if they’ll let you take a glass of this on the boat, but you can always ask no harm in that.Spilled a little wine cause I got excited. But that’s how good this wine is. So immediately it’s. You can see it’s really beautiful. It’s like, crystal clear. I can see my ring right through it from my hand. And it’s just beautiful light, red color. You probably want to call it like light, light ruby or maybe even a touch garnet because the rim is changing so much, but it’s also one that you want to hold up in the sunlight to see how it sparkles.
It’s incredible on the nose. Oh, okay. It is fully dominated by red fruit. There’s a great note of cranberry here, some strawberry, a little bit of raspberry. It’s very effusive. Some Pinot Noirs that I get to taste have a touch of black fruit. But this is completely driven by red. There’s a little bit of earth here. It’s coming through to me a bit as mushroom, maybe like some chanterelles, very expressive and also a touch of fresh turned earth, like the detritus on the forest floor. There’s also a little bit of cedar here, but that’s not to imply that this wine is driven by oak. This wine is completely driven by its fruit character, and this is a nuance of this particular wine.
Let’s taste it. This is becoming too much of a tease. Mm hmm. Oh, I went to go spit, and I forgot because I was tasting and it was so good. I swallowed it. It’s very, very good on the palate. It’s electric. It’s a few of my my palate is like the saliva. It just keeps coming. It’s so my mouth is watering is what I’m trying to say.
This wine is so good. My mouth is watering dramatically. It’s a great wine that’s fruit continues to dominate again. Red fruit, cherries, raspberries, strawberries, covering the palate here with a bit of that forest floor note and a touch of the cedar lingering. But really the fruit is driving the bus on this wine. It’s nice and tart. This is incredible.
I think that if you’re going to have this at your dinner table, this is something to put with your salmon. Not a lot of red wine. You’re going to pair with your fish, so. Well, but this is so light that it’s going to handle it very easily. And also, it’s a great wine to have with friends. If you’ve got some friends over and you want a Pinot Noir, that’s worth talking about.
And as the conversation goes, you continue to find new things. This is the one great notes of Cedar. Like we said, a little bit of earth. With a wine like this. Your friends are going to talk about it for days. Which leads us to where does this fit in your cellar? Well, ideally close to the front of the cellar so you can grab a bottle whenever you’re entertaining guests.
This is a wine that you probably want to get a couple of. So not only can you show your friends once, but show your other friends the next time and then have a bottle to yourself without having to share it. This is an incredible wine that’s got some versatility here, and I think it’s got a little room for age, maybe not too much.
I would say that in six months this is going to be a different wine in a positive way, but too much time might lead it to start to feel a little bit dumb. So have it now and then have it again. So if you looking at the website and thinking how much you should get, the answer is more than one.
And ideally for me, more than six. With that, I’ll let you go and purchase this and I will see you at the next glass.
Lot 960 2018 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Lot 960 2018 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is a distinguished expression of top-shelf estate Russian River Pinot Noir for a weeknight price.
If these Russian River Valley Pinot Noir grapes could talk!! They’d spill the beans about their origins, and then you’d know all about the source winery’s remarkable single-estate vineyards that contributed to this structured blend. Good thing those grapes were crushed, fermented, and turned into one of the most delicious Pinot Noirs we’ve had the privilege of sourcing this year. CH Wine fans… this is a diamond in the rough.
In the glass, Lot 960 2018 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir has a lovely ruby sheen with a hint of purple in the core and an orange-rimmed hue. At 5 years old – this is a wine that has been cellared for you! It’s a heady Pinot with dark brambly fruits, red and black plum, and hints of allspice framed by oak and vanilla. Hello beautiful! It literally leaps out of the glass with expressive fruit, building with mouthwatering acidity, plenty of lift, and a complex vein of minerality through the medium-bodied finish. This is a lovely structured Pinot Noir hitting its stride right now and capable of another 2-4 years of bottle aging.
Super-high-class Swan, DRC, and Pommard clones of Pinot Noir (the same clones coveted by big-name Russian River producers of triple-digit priced Pinots) were blended together to create this utterly dynamic Pinot Noir. Lot 960 delivers a medium-bodied and fashionable wine that was a special Lot selection from the source winery’s epic estate vineyards. This is a wine people would normally pay $70 for, but as a CH Wine “insider” you get these special deals. You and your best wine friends will be fawning over this heady and lifted Pinot with its plummy goodness, baking spice accents, and underpinnings of cedarwood and vanilla. Expressive fruit and minerality, mouthwatering acidity, and the gusto to pair with everything from baked fish and roasted chicken to rack of lamb and Wagyu burgers.
Watch as Katy Long, Director of International Wines for VWE walks us through a tasting of this 2018 vintage Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.
Tasting Video Highlights:
- 00:00 Intro
- 00:13 Lot 960 Info
- 00:22 Russian River Valley
- 00:37 Color of the wine
- 01:00 On the Nose
- 01:28 The Taste
- 02:02 When to Drink
Video Transcript:
Katy Long says:
Hello and welcome back to the CH Wine tasting room. I’m Katy Long and today I have lot 960 this is a 2018 Pinot Noir from Russian River Valley. Some regions are synonymous with their grape varieties and Russian River Pinot Noir is just one of those examples. There is a reason why there’s Pinot Noir planted in this area, and that’s because it thrives and it creates these beautiful wines of complexity.So taking a peek at that color, it is a lovely ruby. It has a hint of purple in the core, almost a bit of orange at the rim, which is kind of to be expected of a Pinot noir, especially one with a few years of age. So what I’m really excited about with this wine is that it is a 2018, which means we’ve done the cellar thing for you.
You can go ahead and open a bottle of this and enjoy immediately, but let me give it a sniff and see if I have anything else to add to that. Oh, this is a heady Pinot noir. There are rumors that just keep unfurling. It is dark bramble fruit. There’s some red plum, some black plum, a hint spice. It might be more of a cinnamon and all spice baking spice component.
And then there’s also this frame of, like oak vanilla. Let’s give it a taste. Hello, beautiful. That wine just jumps out of the glass. Well, on the palate, it’s maybe medium bodied. There’s a good bit of alcohol, and it just kind of lifts up those fruit flavors. It’s mouthwatering acidity. It’s really balanced and it’s a whole lot of fun.
There’s a minerality that also makes it kind of complex. This is a bit more structured than some of the other Pinot Noir, and it is absolutely hitting in its peak window to drink, not to say, though, that it’s not going to continue to evolve for another 3 to 5 years, but I’d say don’t wait, get a case, pop open a bottle and I’ll see you online.
Cheers.
Lot 947 2018 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
We like to remind you that all day, every day, we do just two things:
- Scour the world for great grapes and young wine that needs a new home.
- Usher those grapes from harvest and new wines from tank straight through our own winemaking, aging, and bottling—to bring you great bottles at jaw-dropping prices.
Our newest fall countdown wine is the pinnacle of just that – we’re leaving our soapbox and letting Lot 947 2018 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, do the rest of the talking.The thing is, Lot 947 embodies those two things we do (seek out awesome grapes, and make awesome wine). For starters, Lot 947 is 100% Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley—an incredibly exciting region in Sonoma where some of the world’s great Pinot Noir wines are being made today. The winemaking team at CHW will only let us reveal that this was from a premium program that “may have been discontinued,” and they added, “punches way above its weight in both fruit and wood,” and then they told us, “and we’re buying up a bunch of it ourselves!
Lot 947 is a bowl full of juicy raspberry and blackberry fruit, hints of dark earth notes, like rolling over a log in the forest, hints of black tea, and traces of vanilla. Those red and black fruits really pop on the palate, infused with black tea notes and lifted by mouthwatering, racy acidity. Velvety textures are laced with more vanilla and oak spices. Where does this belong in your cellar? With 5 years aging in the bottle it’s ready to go now. Drink up and enjoy with rotisserie chicken and potatoes, roasted and brined turkey, or 48-hour salted steaks, or just pour a contemplative glass and park yourself in front of a roaring fire. Yes.
Watch as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes walks us through a tasting of this 2018 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.
Tasting Video Highlights:
- 00:00 Intro
- 00:15 Lot 947 Info
- 00:50 The Color
- 01:09 The Nose
- 01:44 The Taste
- 02:43 Where does it fit in your cellar?
Video Transcript:
Chris Lafleur says:
Hi, everyone. Welcome back. This is Chris Lafleur, friendly neighborhood sommelier from the wine tasting room. And we have got some Pinot Noir for you today. This is Lot 947. So let’s dig right in. So this is a Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, which is very exciting right away for me. When you think about Sonoma, like it’s so disparate, what can grow here?It’s really incredible that you go all the way to like Knight’s Valley or Alexander Valley and you’ve got Cabernet Sauvignon that is punching above its weight and comparing very easily with Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. And then you go south and you’ve got some wild expressions of Pinot Noir that have a nice long growing season. So they build up all this remarkable character because that’s what you want.
You want cold climate pinot to show like a cold climate Pinot. So here’s what we have on the color. You can see it’s still deep at its core with some ruby and garnet, but on the edges, nice and pale. Like this is not an opaque wine. You can see your hand through it right away. You get to see that this is a solid wine with a light thin skin.
Pinot Noir in a nutshell. Let’s talk about the nose. Oh, boy. And we’re going to talk about the nose for a while. That’s real good. Okay, so we have some red fruit here. We’ve got black fruit here. I’m thinking of, like, crunchy raspberry and bramble berry, a little bit of black berry. And there’s also a hint of, like, dark, dark earth, which which to me expresses like ice.
Like I always say, it’s forest floor. Like, roll over that log, get a smell. There’s a little bit of black tea on here on the nose as well. And there’s just a touch of vanilla suggesting this spends a little bit of time and oak. And I think we’re going to have to taste it to confirm. But I mean, woe is me.
I got to taste wine today. All right? Can’t spit it. Can’t spit that one. Still good. Can’t spit it. Okay. I hope we get to do multiple takes of this one. It tastes so good. Okay. So on the palate right away. Lots of red fruit. Lots of black fruit, too. In that texture, after that slight astringent note is present.
But it’s not driving the bus because this is a pinot noir. It’s built by race in it. And if you’re tasting this alongside me right now, you know that your mouth is watering. Is that how good this wine is? There’s still a little bit of that forest floor that’s not hitting on the palate because nobody wants to taste rotten leaves.
But you do love that smell of like walking through the fall and feeling the foliage in the air. It’s incredible. This is a great wine with great texture that’s only rounded out by the amount of oak on it. It’s not overpowering it, but it gives you this beautiful bouquet presented to you in a nice clutch of vanilla and oak.
Beautiful. Where does this fit in your wine cellar? I mean, I hope it’s obvious that this is a Pinot noir that you have to have. It’s incredible. For the price point on this one, I would expect probably to pay three times the amount if I saw this on the store shelves somewhere. So very good value. Where does this fit in?
Your wine cellar is a tough question because you won’t keep it in the cellar for very long. You’re probably going to drink it really quick unless you buy a lot of it because you can have this with dinner. It’s versatile. With almost every kind of meat. You’re going to have chicken, turkey, steak, whatever, but you can also sit in front of a nice fireplace in the fall or a campfire and enjoy this as well on its own.
Just contemplate really enjoying the company of all your friends who are thinking the same things as you. How is this wine so good? So I think that’s it for me. Go and enjoy the rest of this glass of wine on your own and think deeply and I will see you at the next glass.
Lot 945 2021 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
MIND-BOGGLING COMPLEXITY!
A couple of years ago, Cameron Hughes fan “Michael” left this comment about a Pinot Noir that is very similar to today’s Lot 945 2021 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir: “This was my first pinot from Chehalem Mountains…Loved it! I will be looking for more from this appellation.” Well, Michael, today is your — and every Pinot lover’s — lucky day.
The source winery basks in the shadow of the Chehalem Mountains of Oregon’s famed Willamette Valley — the epicenter of world-class Pinot Noir. Their family-owned 45-acre estate vineyard is farmed to the strictest of biodynamic standards, and the vines are teeming with life and vibrancy. It’s no wonder top critics regularly give their wines 90-94 points scores!
The Lot 945 2021 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir comes from Decanter magazine’s “cellar-worthy vintage,” which produced “brilliant” wines. Lot 945 is its own brilliant compilation of eight different Pinot Noir grape clones (for complexity) aged in expensive Taransaud, Ermitage, and Francois Freres oak barrels for impressive structure. It is a mind-boggling Pinot Noir that is so complex even the wine thinks it’s really a Grand Cru from Burgundy.
At $20 a bottle, get ready for a fireworks display: A beautiful lucid ruby-red color opens with ripe, black cherry and tart cranberry notes laced with black tea leaves, dried flowers, and sumptuous earth notes. This medium-bodied Pinot envelops the palate with satiny red-berry fruit wrapped in velvety tannins, while rich baking spices, cedarwood, and black truffle cream add intrigue. Expressive acidity keeps everything fresh and balanced.
Watch as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes, and Nicole Muscari, your pocket wine advisor, walk us through a tasting and discuss this exciting Black Label release.
Video Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:18 Willamette Valley / Oregon
01:13 In the Glass
01:30 The Nose
02:15 The Taste
03:08 Pairing
04:37 Where in the Cellar?
Tasting Video Transcript:
Chris Lafleur says
Hi, Everyone. Welcome back to the CH Wine tasting room. I’m Chris Lafleur your super sommelier, and I’m here with Nicole Muscari your pocket wine advisor. Nicole, what have we got today?Nicole Muscari says
Today, I’m super excited because we have a wine from Willamette Valley. This is a Pinot Noir Lot 945, and Oregon is one of my favorite states that produces Pinot noir.Chris
Oh, yeah.Nicole
We have to get into this.Chris
We certainly do. But when I think about Pinot Noir, like, one of my interest to it was tasting some burgundy. And the more you dig into Burgundy, the more expensive it gets. But I don’t know that I always get as much satisfaction out of those wines. The more I pay every time. But what I love about Willamette Valley is that almost always I’m getting I know what I’m getting.Chris
I’m getting a nice expression of Pinot noir that’s kind of between the Burgundy and California.Nicole
I agree. I find the exact same thing with Willamette Valley. You can get that really kind of undergrowth, that earthiness, that savory characteristic that you find a lot in Burgundy. But then you also have this really fruit forward, bright red, juicy fruit that you find here in the United States that I absolutely love. So it kind of combines the best of both worlds.Chris
Yeah.Nicole
All right. Lot 945. What do we have?Chris
Well, I think looking at this, you know, it’s fairly clear it’s not opaque or anything like that. So we’ve got traditional Pinot Noir, not really thick skins, nice slight expression. And I’m not seeing a lot of staining in the glass either. So Absolutely. From there onto the nose. Nicole?Nicole
Yes, I would expect this to be very fresh and very juicy. Let’s see.Chris
Some.Nicole
Ooo, those bright red cherries just right off the bat.Chris
Mm hmm. Yeah. Sleeping out with fruit and love, the little cranberry undertones, too. And I’m liking that. There’s there’s still a subtle note of, like, sous bois, that dark earth, but it’s. It’s still really fruit driven.Nicole
Yes. This kind of reminds me of Fall in a Glass, in a way. You know, those changing leaves, the reds, the yellows, the golds. I’m finding all of that in here.Chris
It’s like you’re getting to, like, walk through a nature trail when all the leaves are falling down.Nicole
Absolutely. I can even hear the crunching of the leaves. And I think actually the fruit itself on the palate might feel a little crunchy.Chris
Oh, well, speaking of let’s crunch that fruit.Nicole
Let’s crunch it.Chris
Mm hmm.Nicole
That is juicy.Chris
As usual for these black labels. It’s really hard to spit these wines. We’ve totally issued that aspect of it. I know you guys like to see us spit out the wine. You like to do it at home as well today. Just dig in.Nicole
This. Great. I find some really beautiful dried floral notes on here as well, with maybe a little dried peony like pink flower. But definitely those bright red fruits that we were talking about, a little bit crunchy and juicy. But again, with all of that beautiful undertone of a little bit of undergrowth, mushiness maybe. Yeah, but Earth.Chris
I like that you called out the dried flowers, the dried floral note here, because it does kind of remind me of a touch of potpourri, but not overpowering. There’s still like a nice balance of fruit and a nice balance of floral delight and lift.Nicole
What are you going to pair this with?Chris
What am I going to pair this with? Oh, man, Just everything. A nice cozy night on the couch for sure.Nicole
Absolutely.Chris
But, you know, when I think about what goes with Pinot Noir, I usually think about duck because it’s always a good excuse to have duck in the house. So I would definitely think about duck with maybe like, like a reduced balsamic or something. It’s going to bring all those flavors together. What about yourself?Nicole
I love mushrooms with Pinot Noir. I find once you save a piano after a while you can kind of get truffle mushroom tones once the wine goes a little tertiary. So I like to play with that, even though they’re not quite here yet. Sometimes if you do like a mushroom risotto or something like that, to kind of pull that complexity out of the wine.Nicole
So for me, I’m going mushroom risotto, maybe a little truffle on it. Not too crazy not to overpower it.Chris
We don’t need to go. But we can.Nicole
We can go a indulge. Let’s indulge.Chris
But I also like it and like wild with the mushrooms, too. Like, let’s throw some pan of the woods in there. Let’s get some chanterelles. Let’s. Let’s get crazy. Let’s really see what these mushrooms can smell like. And see which one we find in the glass.Nicole
Absolutely. And another great thing about Pinot Noir, and especially this one, is that you could have this with like a fatty fish or you could do a grilled white meat as well if you wanted to, because it won’t overpower those things. Some people think you absolutely could never pair fish with a red wine, but that’s not true.Chris
I’m thinking now with like a like a roast pig, like a whole pig, like the crackling skin. With this perfect together.Nicole
Aging wise, where does this fit in everyone’s cellar?Chris
Well, one of the things I like about it, and I noticed, as I’m sure you did, too, like on the palate, there’s really bright, fresh acidity. And that’s usually one of the hallmarks for me that this is going to last a little while. Because when you open this after a couple of years, you want it to taste fresh.Chris
And that acidity is going to do that. Also, I think the fruit is pretty dense. So when you finally do get this open, it’s not going to taste like an old boot. You’ve got a bunch of fruit coming out alongside that lively character.Nicole
Absolutely.Chris
So where would you like this down when you get a case?Nicole
So like you said, this has that great foundation. Know if you like that bright red, juicy breadfruit. Now, this is great. The tendons are really fine grained and I think you could enjoy this wine now, but I also think you could age this up to five years at least if you wanted to.Chris
Yeah, I think five years. And this is going to be singing. Yeah. I don’t know that I’d go too much further because like we said, the tannins are really fine, which, which is, you know, you need those there too for really long term aging to reduce micro oxidation, which we love to talk about in the tasting room. But I think five years is great sweet spot.Chris
It’s going to be singing after that.Nicole
I totally agree. Hopefully there’ll be some cases left after I get my hands on this because this is delicious.Chris
And now we’re going to go finish this bottle. And I think by the end we’ll be singing. To hell with that. We’ll see you at the next glass.Nicole
Cheers.
Lot 944 2021 Carneros Pinot Noir
A Showstopper!
This Black Label Pinot Noir was crafted with a lot of rare grapes grown on the Sonoma side of Carneros. Blink, and you might miss it!
If you type “Carneros” into the search bar on our Cameron Hughes website, you’ll find several wines, but there’s a caveat: they’re accompanied by the words “SOLD OUT.” And, if you look at the fine print, you might notice something extra special about Lot 944 2021 Carneros Pinot Noir — aside from it being an absolutely riveting Carneros Pinot Noir, it’s uniquely from the Sonoma County side of Carneros.
What’s so special about that? The Los Carneros AVA is an American viticultural area that straddles both Napa and Sonoma counties—so nice, they grabbed it twice! Its proximity to the San Pablo Bay means cooling fog and bay breezes create the perfect conditions for growing Pinot Noir. Some total all-star wineries inhabit the western Sonoma side, too, including Gloria Ferrer, Cline Family Cellars, Ram’s Gate, and Viansa.
The long, cool, fog-laden growing season in Carneros Sonoma meant that the three clones of Pinot Noir blended together to create our Black Label Lot 944, exhibit a cool climate expression with lots of tension and mouthwatering acidity. Friends, this wine is an aromatics light show!
Watch as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes, and Katy Long, Director of International Wines for VWE, walk us through a tasting and discuss this exciting release.
Video Highlights:
- 00:00 Intro
- 00:17 Lot 944 Carneros Pinot Noir
- 01:41 The Nose
- 02:43 The Palate
- 03:57 Aging
- 04:42 Where does it fit in your cellar?
Video Transcript:
Katy
Hello and welcome back to the CH Wine tasting Room. I’m Katy Long here with Chris Lafleur.Chris
And I’m Chris Lafleur, here with Katy Long.Katy
It’s great to have you back here. So today we have a beautiful Carneros Pinot Noir for you. Chris what are we looking at?Chris
We were looking at a bottle that needs to be opened. This is a Pinot Noir from Carneros. For those of you familiar with Carneros, you know that it is split evenly between Sonoma and Napa. It’s the place so nice they grabbed it twice. And also because we’re dealing with a black label today, this is also a wine that we are going to taste twice, which is to say, I’m going to have it.Chris
Katy is going to have it. We’re going to talk about it. You’re going to love it.Katy
And it’s a pretty cool wine. So we are in the midst of our fall countdown. This wine, we are working our way towards number 950, which should be a big, exciting moment for us here at Karen Hughes Wine. And we just wanted to pop the cork, have some fun and see where we’re going with this beautiful release.Chris
Now, what’s wonderful about this opening is that Katy ran interference for me while I was opening it, because I’ve never used this corkscrew before. I’ve used many like it, but this was a bit of a trial. Thank you, Katy, as usual.Katy
You’ve made it look so easy.Chris
Thank you. So what do you expect out of this wine?Katy
So, Carneros Pinot Noir. I’m going to expect a beautiful light, ruby color, and I am not disappointed. I’m going to be looking for velvety tannins, maybe medium body, lovely aromatics, and then a smooth finish. Now, I think this is a little bit of a youthful wine. We’re looking at a 2021. So it definitely has room to kind of evolve, but let’s see where it stands today.Chris
Alrighty. Shall I kick her?Katy
I would love that.Chris
Let’s do it. So right away, give it a bit of a swirl to break up some of those esters nose in the glass. Oh, my gosh. Katy, it’s great. So the aromatic intensity right away, it leaps out of the glass. It’s got a really, really bright frame of fruit, lots of cherries, cranberries to me, a little bit of raspberry.Chris
Where do you go for non fruit?Katy
I’m getting a little bit of floral, kind of a violets, maybe a purple flower. And then there’s definitely some of this earthy notes. I don’t know if I’d call it sous voile or kind of a forest floor.Chris
Yeah. So like we say, always roll over that log in the woods. This is what you get. We, we tasted a Pinot noir just yesterday because this is our 74th day in a row of tasting, of course, as professionals. And I got to say, the fruit here feels very, very ripe, but not even close to overripe. It’s like a perfect, like, cool climate expression.Chris
What do you think?Katy
I think that it smells like there’s a lot of tension. Have I put it in my mouth yet? But I’m going to give it a go.Chris
Oh, let’s do it.Katy
Mm hmm. So the first thing I noticed is this incredible mouthwatering acidity. I mean, my mouth is just it is so juicy. These tart, tense, red berry fruits are just dancing on my palate.Chris
Oh, yeah. It’s a racy wine. I can feel my mouth watering under my tongue. And along that palate I think you’d mentioned before, you expect some, like, supple tannins in this wine? I’d say that’s exactly correct. It’s it’s present, but it’s not overpowering. And for Pinot Noir, which we usually expect not to be very tannic, it’s got something there that gives just a bit more balance than than just having a lot of acidity.Katy
Yeah, Yeah. So there’s fruit. There’s acid. There’s just a subtle but integrated tannin. And I’d say the oak in this wine is more of a frame. It’s just subtle and it adds a bit more to that complexity. Really, really cool wine.Chris
Yeah, it doesn’t run in with a ton of vanilla, but it does wrap and frame the fruit here, which, speaking of the fruit, a great sign of quality for me is having a nice ripe nose like this that doesn’t lean into jammy and then still maintains its ripeness on the palate with maybe a little bit more tartness, making it feel really crisp, giving it some tension.Chris
Yeah. Now I think this has got some time before it’s going to be showing its peak. I think probably 3 to 5 years. Do you concur?Katy
I would definitely concur. So if you don’t have time to wait those 3 to 5 years for this to evolve in the bottle, I encourage you to open it up, let it air, and you can drink it right away. It certainly is lovely now, but we are watching it evolve in the glass just as we’re sitting here. And it’s it’s just going to continue.Katy
So definitely 3 to 5 years of time in the bottle. It will continue to be delicious. Well, I’d say eight, nine, ten years.Chris
Oh, yeah, Yeah, I would say so. It’s I mean, this is so good. I’m dancing right now. I just caught myself doing it because it’s. It’s such a good tasting wine. You’re in.Katy
The groove.Chris
I’m so in the groove. This is delicious. I don’t want to spit it, Which is why there’s no spit buckets for this wine. So where does this fit in your cellar, Katy?Katy
Well, I like to get a kiss. Watch it evolve. But this is a wine that I’m going to take to my in-laws as a celebration. Wine, maybe for the holiday parties, maybe even. I don’t know if you’re a asking special questions.Chris
Yeah, special questions. Like, how old is your dog? When did you get that car? Or thinking more specifically, like if you are going for that promotion, you bring this to your boss. This is a great way to grease the wheels of commerce for yourself. Maybe you’re about to ask her dad for her hand in marriage. This is going to lighten the load a little bit, getting him to say yes.Chris
I mean, this is a great wine to impress anybody. It’s a great one to bring to parties, great one to have at your home, dinner parties.Katy
Food friendly. This is such a versatile wine. I mean, that medium body, it’s no shrinking violet medium body on the palate, long supple finish. This will just it’s going to shine wherever you take it.Chris
And with that, we’ll see you at the next glass.Katy
Cheers.
