Notes: This wine was sent to me by Pete Danko of Paterno Wines, right before I got sick (thanks, Pete!). Because of that, I was remiss in my duties of promptly drinking it and writing about it, but I am playing catch up now, and had this a few days ago. (I have a Chardonnay to report on, too, but more on that, later.)
I didn't know much about Cuvaison but some investigation tells me it was started by some engineers (the computer sort) in 1969, and changed hands a couple of times between then and 1979, when a Swiss family bought the winery along with a bunch of vineyard. Right now the winemaker is Steven Rogstad, who was at Clos Pegase a while back, and found his way to wine through his literature major in college. He ferments these hand-picked grapes for about three weeksn and then the wine spends 9 months in 60 percent new French oak barrels.
This wine is a light burgundy-red in glass, not a blue red, but more of a brown-orange red, which is not surprising in a Pinot Noir. It has a slightly hot nose of cherry and strawberry, along with bark and nutmeg. On the tongue the fruit (more of that cherry/strawberry, and a lot of it) is immediate, and then gives way to a bitter orange astringency. A cardamom-cherry cough drop finish cleans up. I find that the astringency in the finish is too much for me, and the bitterness I am getting is somewhat jarring, but the finish is long and pleasant.
Cost: $28
Overall: B-. A nice effort, but not my style of Pinot Noir, really.
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