
Tasting Notes
Blue fruits (blueberries, plums) meld with the more typical dark cherry in this wine that can serve as the poster boy for Central Coast pinot's flavor profile. Deeply intense, with noticeable tannins that will soften over years to come.
The Vineayrd
I still recall the summer day our family arrived in California from Illinois. Accustomed to heat and humidity above 90, I had been unloading our moving van for almost an hour before I noticed "Hey, I'm not sweating!" Such is the beauty of the cool maritime influence.
And for a grape vine, that daily breeze (often, considerably more blustery than breezy!) exceeds the vine's ability to absorb nutrients and water. Eventually, the vine almost shuts down the nutrients to the fruit, resulting in very intense fruit from these frontier vineyards on the outskirts of traditional pinot land. Smaller berries with thicker skins are the ingredient of choice for those enamored with Central Coast pinot noir.
And Aubaine is one of the few Central Coast vineyards from which the ocean is clearly visible, assuring an intense maritime effect. Fruit from this vineyard is in rare supply, with its miserly yields producing wine that is highly sought after by those who appreciate this region's style.
The Winemaker
Owner Brian Loring was a raving pinot lover for decades before the wine bug finally bit so hard he sidelined a perfectly good day job to learn his craft and start his winery. Now he uses fruit from 14 of the best pinot noir vineyards on the West Coast, producing micro-quantities from each. And yes, each is bottled separately in a vineyard-designated bottling.
Brian's total production is just 7,500 cases, so rough math tells us he makes just a shade more than 500 cases per vineyard. I can't imagine the punishment one must go through, schedule-wise, when crafting this many wines. Then to only have such small quantities to sell for your efforts... I doff my cap to the Lorings!
Now I must tell you, I found Loring's prior pinot bottlings to be cross-dressing as Syrah or maybe Zinfandel from Amador county. Hot. Big. Not what I had in mind for pinot. Apparently, neither did Brian, for the Loring wines are now soft, elegant and approachable, with restrained alcohol (14%) and fruit so that some of the vineyard's characteristics show through. Much mo' bettah!
A Note On Screw Caps
After having just about enough of TCA problems from his natural corks, Brian has decided to close all of his bottles with screwcaps. Now, I have no problem with screwcaps. But they can be a surprise when someone orders a bottle of $50 wine. So I asked Brian about this, and he said
Cheers,
Dave the Wine Merchant
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