2013 Nouveau Monde Pinot Noir
2013 Vintage, Exceptional in every way…A Tour de Force!
Our two favorite vintages have been 2010 and 2011. These 2 vintages were polar opposites as far as growing season and the challenges that mother nature threw at us, yet, they both produced amazing Pinot Noir. The 2010s were deep, rich, round, with earthy tones and great depth; the 2011 were vibrant with precise fruit and spectacular spice, herbal, and with brisk acidity. Remarkably, 2013 is a combination of these two vintages, and the wines are simply magical. Because of its DNA and fragile temperament, it is extremely rare for Pinot Noir to hit all the right notes, the 2013’s are a once in a blue moon remarkable vintage.
In 2005 we made our first Pinot Noir from the family vineyard (only 143 cases produced, that’s it!); Located in a unique site we believed would enable us to craft wines with a style that might satisfy our infatuation for the great Burgundies that we love. In 2009, from the same site, we challenged ourselves to make our Pinot Noirs from single vineyard, single clone, and allocate a single cooperage (barrel maker) from France to deliver uncompromised focus to each wine. The MonoClone® was born and we registered the trademark to protect our beliefs.
Having said that, we did not become stubborn about the MonoClone or infatuated by the idea, the wines had to deliver. If they did not, we would have gone back to blending the clones. Our MonoClone focus has produced compelling wines, and so here we are, 8 years later with the 2013 harvest.
The 2013 vintage had what we thought was an ideal growing season for Pinot Noir, if there is such a thing. Since 2005, mother nature has thrown the kitchen sink at us, years of drought, fires, rain at the wrong time when it finally came, heat spikes days before harvest, red blotch, years with minuscule yields, to name a few. So when 2013 came, and it seems that week after week the weather was finally on our side, we did not want to jinx it, especially Don, and we kept thinking that we are going to pay at some point and that some cataclysmic evil forces were going to awaken and deliver another blow…it did not, Darth Vader did not show up.
2013 Nouveau Monde MonoClone Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
Tasting Notes
Le Regard / The Look
The purest of ruby clarity in the glass, dancing like gemstones in the light.
Le Nez / The Nose
Superb concentration of red fruits (raspberries, red currants, pomegranate) layered with rose petals, vanilla, exotic spices interlaced with tea must.
Degustation / The Taste
The front palate is precise, with an abundance of tart red cherries and ripe raspberry compote, fatty vanilla, floral tones accented with mulling spices. The mid palate is pure finesse, very silky, with precise layers of wild strawberries, cranberries and cherries lifted by white floral, coriander and cardamom. The mid-palate is complex with earthy sous-bois (forest floor), black tea, anise, and herbal aromatics, all in great balance and harmony. Positively silken in texture but palpably dense in aromatic concentration and tannins, the synergy between the fleshy crystalline acidity and refined tannins produces great lift and an elegant finish.
