Monticello Pinot Noir 2018
| Availability: | In stock |
It is hard to believe but most of the old guard Napa wineries are no longer owned by their founders. The US tax code is not designed to encourage generational transitions when many of those late 1970’s and early 1980’s bought the land for practically nothing and today it has a value of up to a half million dollars an acre. A few have managed to figure it out, like the Cakebreads and Grgich Hills, but alas fortune 500 companies, private equity and tech billionaires have bought out most. One of my favorites is Monticello, which has been owned by the Corley family since 1970.
For more than 50 years the family has quietly produced some of the most classically styled wines in the valley, eschewing the trend of super ripeness and massive levels of oak for wines that still taste like the variety and display the character of the soils in which the vines grow. They also age gorgeously and this week we have a chance to show just how well with a rare offering. Our local distributor is clearing out the warehouse to make room for the fall shipments and heavily discounted some older vintages of which we took a large position. This distributor has excellent storage and has been a little honey hole for older vintages of years. Get them while you can, while we bought a nice chunk it is also not an endless supply.
Most of Napa Valley is too warm for Pinot Noir except for Carneros and a tiny pocket in the Oak Knoll AVA that lies just north of the city of Napa. I love this area for Pinot Noir and buy three good examples; Ramspeck, Hendry HRW and this one. If you love Pinot Noir and do not try this one for the price you really are a fake fan. The Corley family example is far from the classic fruit bomb character of many Napa examples, especially with a few years of age. This one oozes a complex bouquet of evolved of blackberry preserves, strawberry fruit leather, forest floor, cinnamon red hots and fresh turned red clay. This wine is definitely mature but far from old with moderate concentration and fantastic length. Drink 2025-2027.