2014 Ulysses 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 ULYSSES MonoClone Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast - The Unicorn
Aged in Dagueneau Cigar shaped barrel

Bright ruby clarity in the glass, gem like luminosity. The nose is very floral, laced with aromas of raspberries, fraise des bois (wild strawberries), dried rose petals, and dried herbs. As the wine evolves in the glass or decanter, the aromatics become more elegant and voluptuous, almost sweet, with strawberry rhubarb compote, exceptionally refined and floral, layered with vanilla and rose water. The palate delivers absolute red fruit purity, raspberries, cranberries, pomegranate layered with vanilla bean, and white pepper. The palate remains enveloped in a red fruit creaminess for an eternity, only to be lifted by a soft acidity and very light wood toast similar to toasted almonds. This is a beautiful, feminine wine, reminiscent of Les Amoureuses in Chambolle, reflects the unique character of the legendary vineyard, perched on a mountain top. Pinots of this class are rarely seen in the new world, this wine is for all the seekers of feminine enigmatic Pinot Noir that delivers purity, elegance, and exoticism.

This wine will never be seen or produced again.