Quick Sip: Domaine Carneros 2008 Pinot Noir

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Hello Friends,

Today’s ‘Quick Sip’ is the Domaine Carneros 2008 Estate Pinot Noir. Domine Carneros is located in the heart of Carneros, a cool-climate wine region in California that spans across both (south) Napa and Sonoma counties. The cool climate of the Carneros AVA (American Viticulture Area) makes it ripe for growing classic varieties like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Domaine Carneros was established in 1987 by Taittinger, a French wine family famous for Champagne. Their original focus was to produce world-class sparkling wine out of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. After selling their Pinot Noir fruit to some of the area’s top producers, the winery decided to bottle their own Pinot Noir wines in 1992. Today, Domaine Carneros is an organic producer specializing in sparkling wine and Pinot Noir produced from almost 100% estate grown (Carneros Appellation) fruit. Let’s uncork this Pinot and give it a swirl, sniff, and sip!

Domaine Carneros 2008 Estate Pinot Noir


In the glass, the Domaine Carneros 2008 Estate Pinot Noir is a beautiful deep ruby color. The swirl and sniff reveals a pretty, nicely scented wine that boasts inviting aromas of raspberry, black cherry, sweet-plum, and a kiss of toast with soft herbal and baking spice notes. On the sip, this medium-bodied wine is smooth and supple with pleasant fruit, moderate acidity, a nice silky texture, and a long lasting finish. The Domaine Carneros 2008 Estate Pinot Noir retails for $35.00, has a real cork enclosure, and clocks in at 14.2% ABV. This Pinot sips well on its own and is versatile enough to marry with a wide variety of foods. A friend who tasted this wine with me and enjoyed it, has already made calls and found it at local Wegmans and Total Wine stores where it retails for $25 to $28. The next time you see a Domaine Carneros sparkling wine or Pinot Noir in your local wine shop, I suggest giving this producer a try. Cheers!

** Local Twist **  I have found based on what I taste, that some of the best regions for Pinot Noir are cooler climate wine regions such as Burgundy (FR), Central Otago (NZ), Willamette Valley (OR), Carneros (CA), Russian River Valley (CA), etc. Virginia is not a cool climate wine region; therefore, in my humble opinion, the small amount of Pinot Noir planted here is best suited for sparkling wine. That said, the late Juanita Swedenburg, co-founder of Swedenburg Vineyards in Middleburg, Virginia, planted, crafted, and made popular, a Virginia Pinot Noir wine that quickly sells out in their tasting room. I recommend giving it a try if you want to see what Virginia can do with the finicky Pinot Noir variety. Disclosure: A sample was provided to www.myvinespot.com for review. Have a question about this post, friends? Feel free to leave a comment or send me an e-mail at myvinespot@yahoo.com, and as always, Happy Sipping! Stay tuned friends ...More to come!

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