The Bien Nacido vineyard in Santa Maria, CA year after year produces some of the most sought-after pinot noir fruit in California. Only winemakers who have mastered the temperamental pinot noir grape are even considered as candidates for vineyard manager Chris Hammell’s coveted allocations.
The Ojai Vineyard’s 2005 Pinot Noir should make Jim proud. It is highly extracted and offers aromatic blast of musty red raspberries and cherries during the initial swirl-n-sniff. It has a full and rich mouth and finishes with a pleasant bite of tannin and acid. This is a great Pinot Noir and ranks up there with Sanford’s Barrel Select and Lane Tanner’s Bien Nacido creations.
It paired perfectly with my German Sauerbraten and cheese course. It cost $47.99USD when it was released.