June 2007 Wine Tasting Notes.
2005 Jekel Pinot noir, Monterey County.
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This Pinot is medium depth garnet in color with very good clarity. The nose offers light smoky aromas suggestive of at first. With a little air, light intensity fleshy strawberry aromas and spice notes emerge. In the mouth, the light intensity spice and strawberry core is joined by a distinctly mineral note. This is a light bodied wine with filigree tannins, perky but appropriate acidity and alcohol kept in check for this type of composition. The wine finishes medium length with strawberry laced with orange rind and mineral notes. |
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13.95% Alcohol $14.99 Retail (from winery); 15,000 cases produced |
Easily, a good candidate for an everyday, "house" Pinot, this wine offers a good deal of value. It has good fruit definition and enough juiciness and mineral notes to give it some character. It is light enough to pair with white meats (even off the grill) and fish and pastas. Enjoy now. BOTTOM LINE: Fairly good. No serious flaws. Worth trying. |
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| Supplemental/Repeat tasting: None. | ||
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More Jekel Vineyards reviews. More on the Monterey AVA |
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Production | Grapes | Producer | Vineyard | Vintage
Made from 100% Pinot noir from Jekel’s Gravelstone Vineyard, Alta Loma Vineyard and Premiere Coastal Vineyards. A small portion of the fruit was sourced from the Russian River Valley AVA in Sonoma. 100% barrel fermented with full malolactic fermentation. Aged 12 months in French Oak (Medium to Medium-Plus toast), 15% new or once-used and the remainder neutral.
Pinot Noir, the noble Burgundian grape, is often described as "difficult" to grow but the wine is beautiful and complex when circumstances are favorable. It is one of the oldest grape varieties to be vinified. The tiny (~60 square miles) Côte d'Or in Burgundy, France has been the benchmark for Pinot Noir for centuries. Nonetheless, it is planted worldwide. It is often described as delicate and light bodied and having a soft texture. The aromas and flavors are the most distinct and identifiable and most complex of all varieties. Common fruit aromas are: cherry, raspberry, ripe tomato and strawberry. It can express floral notes or rose or violet. Spice is a big element of Pinot Noir: cardamom, caraway, cinnamon, cola, clove, nutmeg, pepper, rosemary and sassafras. Most California Pinot Noirs made today (with some exceptions) rarely have the make up to last past a decade but with age they can show tobacco and smoke characteristics. (read more)
Bill Jekel founded his eponymous winery in 1972. The winery is located near Greenfield, in the Arroyo Seco AVA. He released his first wines from the 1978 vintage. The winery and its vineyards were acquired by Brown-Forman who then closed the winery in 2005, moving red wine production to a larger, company-owned Paso Robles facility and white wine vinification to Hopland (at the Fetzer facility - also owned by Brown-Forman). As is the case with such large acquisitions, the winery was sold in 2006 as were the vineyards providing the fruit for Jekel wines. The plan, currently, is to continue sourcing Monterey fruit after the current arrangements for fruit from Gravelstone and Sanctuary Vineyards run out. New vineyard sources have not yet been identified.
The Gravelstone Vineyard is a 135-acre property more or less in the center of the Arroyo Seco AVA, northwest of the town of Greenfield. This location in the Salinas Valley gives the vineyard more exposure to the afternoon cooling winds. This location is best for Chardonnay (which makes up the bulk of the vines at the site) as well as Riesling and Pinot noir. Since Brown-Forman retained the rights to he Gravelstone name in the recent sale, this vineyard is likely to be renamed after 2007.
The 458-acre Premiere Coastal Vineyard sits outside the obliquely running southwestern border of the Santa Maria Valley AVA along Highway 101 at Palmer Road, north of the town of Los Alamos. Planted in 1998, the vineyard produces Chardonnay (200 acres), Pinot Noir (100 acres), Merlot (80 acres) and Syrah (78 acres). The Los Alamos Valley, the proposed new AVA where the vineyard is located, sits between the Santa Maria and Santa Ynez Valley AVAs. Its intermediate geography translates into intermediate climate. The temperatures here are on average 10 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than in the Santa Maria Valley and 10 degrees cooler than in the Santa Ynez Valley. Growing on the southwestern-facing slopes of the Solomon Hills (which form the northern border of the proposed Los Alamos AVA), the 26 blocks of the vineyard are farmed for and sold to small and large producers including: Au Bon Climat, Bridlewood, Wild Horse Winery, William James Cellars, Fetzer and Beringer Blass Wine Estates (formerly Beringer).
The bio-dynamically farmed Alta Loma Vineyard is located just south of the southwestern corner of the Arroyo Seco AVA. It is tucked against foothills of the Santa Lucia Hills, near the town of Greenfield at the western boundary of Salinas valley.
The 2005 year saw an increase in crops over the preceding years. The year is being compared to the acclaimed 1997 vintage because of a very long and generally cool growing season without heat spikes. This long season resulted in extended hang times in even temperatures which gave the fruit good extraction but lower sugar levels. The slow ripening of the fruit is expected to make for elegance and balance in the wines of this vintage. Read More
Rating
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Color |
5 points |
(5 points max) |
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Nose |
3 points |
(5 points max) |
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Palate |
2 points |
(5 points max) |
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Finish |
3 points |
(5 points max) |
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Tannins |
5 points |
(5 points max) |
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Acidity |
5 points |
(5 points max) |
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Alcohol |
5 points |
(5 points max) |
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Aging potential |
1 points |
(5 points max) |
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Overall quality |
7 points |
(10 points max) |
Cumulative Score: 86
Rating System & Scoring Criteria explained
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