Achieving the Near-Impossible
2006 Monterey Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands
Finding serious domestic Pinot Noir for under $30 can be a bit of a challenge. Finding serious California Pinot Noir for under $20 is nearly impossible.
Today, impossible is nothing...
Yes, the pricing is outrageous, but let's be very serious for a minute: This is not overflow juice from all over the state dumped into a big ambiguous cuvée; this is site-specific Pinot with pedigree from a legitimate California AVA...
We liked this wine so much - it's been our go-to everyday Pinot for the last couple of years and has worked up quite the following for itself - we went to the distributor and cut a sharp deal that today we are thrilled to be able to pass onto you.
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We strongly advise you to stock up for the fall harvest! Pinot is ideal with the season's root vegetables, winter squash and the transition into richer soups and stews. And don’t forget that Pinot makes holiday tables and their guests very happy.
The sunny California fruit definitely speaks clearly here, but it’s a bit darker than the cherry-inflected Pinots from elsewhere, and it comes with a loam-influenced earthiness. There are plump, deep red and purple berries that are vibrant and bright on the palate, as if they were just freshly crushed. Though they’re ripe, they’re in no way sappy, heavy or fat - the impressive freshness is followed up by a slight spice and definitive agility through the finish.
The high quality of this wine starts, like all great wines, in the vineyard. This isn’t just any old juice sourced from multiple vineyards all over the huge state - it comes with pedigree that is evident in the wine's balance of concentration and finesse. In this case, the site is the Santa Lucia Highlands, an AVA widely regarded as a premier site in California for the finicky Pinot Noir grape.Â
This area’s mild climate is tempered by the cool breeze that rushes through the east-to-west channel between the mountains; the set-up also brings a cool fog that pauses in the mornings over the vineyards before it’s burned off by the grape-ripening California sun. The results are well-balanced, earthy Pinots with spines pulled up straight by good acidity.
The bottom line is that this is really good juice with an astonishing price tag for its roots. The pricing is only good on this parcel, and while we've taken as much as we could, this bottle already has an avid following (at nearly twice today's price).
Stock up while you can, so that as hectic and chilly weeknights settle in, you've got your Pinot on hand to get you through. And then when the eclectic spread of holiday dinners comes around, you'll already have just the thing to pair with it - with all of it.
To place your order, please reply to this email or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Robert Schagrin
Managing Partner
Crush Wine & Spirits
Available early next week!
NET | No further discount