2021 Samuel Louis Smith "Montañita de Oro" Monterey County Pinot Noir

93WE

$29.95

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Wine Enthusiast

Reviewed March 2023

Baked strawberry, plum and tightly woven lavender aromas converge on the nose of this bottling from various vineyards. Grippy tannins frame the diverse flavors of the palate, sliding from cran-raspberry to packed flowers to white pepper. (MK)

Staff Reviews

Carlo Delgado

Review Date: 11/2024

Bright notes of crunchy plums, fresh red berries, dragon fruit, cola, and a potpourri of hibiscus & dried rose petals. The 45% whole cluster fermentation imparts delicate tannins, and a beautiful lightly steeped oolong tea flavor. Just the right touch of oak. This is a pretty, well balanced, well made wine with finesse.

Alex Leonardini

Lean and linear with excellent cut and not an ounce of surplus fat, Sam Louis Smith’s Monterey County Pinot Noir is humming with tightly wound, nervy energy. Beautifully perfumed on the nose, the palate is a razor-sharp balance of fruit medley -strawberry, red plum skin, and rhubarb- and floral tones of lavender, crushed rose, and white pepper corn. All that energy is framed by fine-grained tannins that should bring this wine through the next eight years, at least.

Notes

Selected from some of the best of Monterey County’s mountain grown Pinot Noir sites: Pelio Vineyard - 1000ft above Carmel Valley. Coastview Vineyard - 2,300 feet up in the Gabilan Mountains overlooking the Monterey Bay. And Cortada Alta Vineyard, the highest site in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA at 1200-1600ft. From the winery: "Deep red. Wild strawberries, damp earth, bay laurel, sweet spices, and bergamot tea on the nose are followed by red fruits and savory spices on the palate. A medium body is framed by elegant tannins and a long finish."

Details

Origin	Monterey/Carmel Valley, California, United States
Type/Varietal	Pinot Noir
Alcohol Content	13.1%
SKU	1660575