Windstream Pinot Noir 2021
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Wine
Enthusiast
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
This is a deep, structured wine with concentrated flavors of black cherry, raspberry and dark plum. Secondary notes from barrel aging include brown spice, cedar and a hint of vanilla. This Pinot Noir shows ripe fruit flavors with balance, finesse and a long, mouth filling finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Lavender, rose petal potpourri and black raspberry aromas create a floral-driven nose on this single-vineyard expression from the Riboli family’s Salinas Valley property. Floral elements sail across the palate as well, ranging from red to purple petals, with darker black plum and elderberry flavors also showing.
Other Vintages
2018-
Wine
Enthusiast
Inspired by the ever-present winds and fog of the Santa Lucia Highlands, Windstream embodies the best wines grown in the Riboli Family’s estate Sarmento Vineyard. This cool climate is ideal for crafting Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines that reflect the true terroir of this small but mighty winegrowing appellation in Monterey. The soils of the Santa Lucia Highlands are a geological combination of weathered granite, older marine sedimentary rocks, and volcanic rocks. Soil diversity is so extreme that vineyard blocks commonly contain several different soil types, yielding rich and dynamic flavors to the grapes. The cold, deep Monterey Bay constantly influences this region with cool winds and heavy fog.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Perhaps the most highly regarded appellation within Monterey County, Santa Lucia Highlands AVA benefits from a combination of warm morning sunshine and brisk afternoon breezes, allowing grapes to ripen slowly and fully. The result is concentrated, flavorful wines that retain their natural acidity. Wineries here do not shy away from innovation, and place a high priority on sustainable viticultural practices.
The climatic conditions here are perfectly suited to the production of ripe, rich Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. These Burgundian varieties dominate an overwhelming percentage of plantings, though growers have also found success with Syrah, Riesling and Pinot Gris.