Fess Parker 2009 Clone 115 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir

DATE CONSUMED

Sunday, October 13, 2013

VINTAGE

2009

WINERY/PRODUCER

Fess Parker

WINE NAME

N/A

TYPE OF WINE

Red

COMPOSITION

100% Pinot Noir

SUBNAME/NICKNAME

Clone 115

VINEYARD DESIGNATION

N/A

REGION/APPELLATION/A.V.A. (American Viticultural Area)

Santa Rita Hills, California

ALCOHOL CONTENT

14.3%

PRICE PAID

$40 (Retail price: $50)

WHERE/WHEN BOUGHT AND/OR HOW PROCURED

We received this bottle from Fess’ wine club in June 2011

BOUQUET

This wine has a beautiful floral bouquet, exhibiting red fruit, oak, savory herbs, and black pepper.  I detect a hint of a suggestion of a smidge of a note of that classic, gorgeous Santa Rita Hills (SRH) terrior that is unlike any other wine-growing region in California (if not the world).  If you’ve experienced multiple Pinots from the SRH, the Russian River Valley (RRV) (the two best Pinot regions in California in my (not so humble) opinion), Santa Barbara County, and/or Napa and Sonoma Counties, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.  The SRH has an incredibly unique sense of place as it pertains to Pinot Noir, in both bouquet and flavor profile.  Let’s see if the wine tastes like it smells…….

TASTING NOTES

This is indeed a tasty SRH Pinot Noir, whose flavor profile closely follows the wine’s bouquet characteristics.  Some SRH Pinots can be very light bodied and Burgundian, while others can be a bit richer, heavier, darker, and spicier in nature, such as this wine.

Up front is delicious red fruit like sour cherries, raspberries, and boysenberries, along with a touch of black fruit like plums and black cherries.  The second most prominent characteristic is a fantastic quantity of savory herbs and black pepper.  Next up is that wonderful SRH terrior.  No other grape varietal in the world exhibits its sense of place better than Pinot Noir, and the soil, topography, geography, and weather in the SRH is incredibly unique and VERY identifiable for experienced wine drinkers.  I can usually identify a SRH Pinot within nanoseconds of either smelling or tasting the wine because their bouquet and flavor identifiers are ridiculously obvious.

This wine is wonderfully well-balanced.  The fruit, spice, unique earth/soil, creamy oak, tannins, acidity, and finish are all beautifully well-integrated and harmonize together so that all of the wine’s elements result in a delicious, versatile Pinot Noir. 

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS

After a brutal week at work, Arthur and I needed an easy, simple-to-make Sunday night dinner since the soon-to-begin work week was just hours away.  So I grilled ribeye steaks with my usual ribeye spices (Kosher salt, black pepper, and Herbs de Provence).  This Pinot paired fantastically with the steaks and would just about pair perfectly with any other red meat dish, like lamb, pot roast, prime rib, etc.  Pinot Noir often pairs well with duck, scallops, and salmon, but a Pinot that’s VERY Burgundian would be the one to pair with those dishes.  This Pinot (thanks to its spiciness and medium body) should be paired with serious red meat dishes.

AGING POTENTIAL

This wine is drinking beautifully right now and should continue to age nicely for another 10+ years. 

SCORE (on a 100-point scale)

91

Q.P.R. (QUALITY-TO-PRICE RATIO) (POOR, FAIR, GOOD, EXCELLENT)

GOOD

WINERY WEBSITE

http://www.fessparker.com/