2014 L'Eternel Pinot Noir

Our Rare ONE-BARREL Release

 TRIPTYCH OF MONOCLONE® PINOT NOIRS

From the Stellar 2014 Vintage

 Single Vineyard, Single Clone, ONE barrel…Soliste

Claude and I sat together the other day to taste three of our 2014 Single Barrel MonoClone Pinot Noirs and select one to release. As our story goes, the name Soliste comes from the special single barrel the Burgundian vigneron reserves for friends and family. Our single barrel wines represent the promise and journey that is Soliste. We wanted to select an outstanding single barrel wine from an exceptional vintage to celebrate the rapidly approaching 2019 harvest – our 15th Vendange – with you. 

Each of these three wines epitomized why we love Pinot Noir. Of all the cépages, it is the most complex, exotic, cerebral, and enigmatic. And at times, perhaps showing its French roots, can be very frustrating and challenging. This is why we are both infatuated with and passionate about Pinot Noir, and why we care so deeply about our mission to craft the very best wines year after year. Selecting just one took much debate – and more than a glass or two. Suddenly, Claude announced, “These are so incroyable, instead of waiting and releasing them one at a time, let's showcase them together, and at once!” Sometimes the best decision is no decision at all. 

I’ll turn it over to Claude for his tasting notes:

This stellar vintage captures all the Alchemy that becomes Great Pinot Noir. This is a vintage for the purist. 2014 has gifted us precision, depth, pure aromatics and length to craft and select ONE barrel of three distinctive and singular Pinots from specific sites, terroir and MonoClone. Each are aged for 23 months in a single barrel. The rewards are Pinot Noir’s intoxicating nose, powerful yet refined with layers of pure fruit density, spice, sous-bois, truffles, amazing length, and complex finish.  

These three One Barrel MonoClone wines are so uniquely different that we simply could not resist but to do ONE release for you to experience their individual character – Vive la différence! 

2014 L’ETERNEL MonoClone Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast - The Hedonist

Deep Garnet gemstone clarity in the glass, stellar purity, and luminosity. The nose is muscular, rich and earthy, with bacon fat, peppery plums, vanilla and violets. As the wine opens up, the aromas becomes more voluptuous and exotic with intense perfumes of dark caramelized cherries, wild plums, licorice, coco nibs, and black tea must. The front palate delivers an impressive density and weight, matching the nose with a concentration of black cherries, Kirsch, Peppery plum compote, and exotic spices. The middle palate is unctuous and hedonist, pure pleasure; the density of the fruit is magnified and spiked with earthy tones, coco nibs, toasted sourdough bread, and fat drippings (I am definitely thinking roast duck and sucking Pig as a pairing). The silkiness of the wines amazing texture adds to pure pleasure. The back palate is complex, with violets interlaced with vanilla, cardamom, star anise, and floral tones, and spice wood. The ripe tannins give the wine a red fruit and bright acidity devoid of any astringency, which balance its concentration. The most impressive quality of this wine is how such harmonious concentration and texture can seamlessly flow uphill into a bright finish, providing verve and magnitude. My fond memory of Gevrey Chambertain, Lavaux St Jacques.