One thing to look for in a pinot noir is one that comes from a “cool climate” region. The Los Carneros AVA in California is one such region. Carneros is north of the San Pablo Bay and includes part of both Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley.
The producers of this wine, Waterstone Winery, don’t own any vineyards or winery facilities to produce their wine. Waterstone was created by winemaker Philip Zorn and wine executive Brent Shortridge. Their vision was to create high-end wines at affordable prices. Now that’s a vision that I can respect, but how do you do that? Minimize the overhead, that’s how. After years in the industry they had established good relationships with growers as well as with vintners with facilities where Waterstone could create their wine. This allowed them to focus on making wine versus investing in land and equipment.
Of course this model might raise questions about consistency. But Waterstone has long-term contracts in place with their growers to create some insurance of consistency. That said, this is the first vintage of this wine that I’ve tasted, so I’ll let time tell how consistent they become. For now, I can say that the 2009 vintage of their pinot noir is very good.
The nose on this pinot noir is amazing! It offers well balanced aromas of prune, cola, violets and cherry. The palate is also quite nice, with tasty cherry, blackberry and cranberry flavors that aren’t too sweet. The acidity is perfect. The mouthfeel is relatively smooth. It finishes with a burst of cherry flavor and tea-like tannins linger. It’s a nice wine.
While the suggested retail price of this is slightly over our typical $20 limit, you may be able to find this one for under 20 bucks.
Wine: Waterstone Carneros Pinot Noir
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 89
Price: $22.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.
Find Waterstone Carneros Pinot Noir with Snooth