Lucky Star Pinot Noir, California,2008
Cost: $10-12
What: Thank your lucky stars this Pinot has come to Augusta. It is an unusually good Pinot Noir, especially at this price. It’s silky smooth, with a rich, deep intensity. It’s an excellent sipping wine. The wine is youthful, and doesn’t have a lot of complexity, but it is one of the better Pinots I have tasted in a long time. It starts with a deep garnet color. Plum and black cherry aromas lead to a blackberry flavor, with a long, pleasant, crisp finish. There’s not much oak, but this probably will get even better over the next year or two. The wine is 94% Pinot Noir and 6% Syrah.
Winery: The winery is in Sonoma County, but the label says “California Appellation,” so the grapes could be from anywhere in the state. They say they have sourced the grapes from some of the best vineyards in Northern California. The winery says these grapes were harvested late in the evening and into the morning, to preserve crispness and delicate fruit flavors. Grapes were destemmed, cold soaked and kept whole rather than crushed to enhance berry flavors. The wine was then fermented on the skins for five to seven days. The Syrah was added to provide extra smoothness and structure.
Goes with: I had this with fried chicken and baked potatoes, and it was a very nice pairing. It also would go well with all kinds of grilled meats, light pastas and possibly some heavy salads laced with meat. The winery suggests a wood-oven fired pizza with wild mushrooms and Taleggio cheese. I think I’ll try it with a pizza from Giuseppe’s.
