Chalone Pinot Noir

The new Pinot Noir clones, planted in 1997, are really showing their potential with the 2005 vintage. The wine is darkly colored and amazingly opulent, with fantastic fruit intensity leaning toward red cherries and strawberries. Firm in body, with big tannins, this wine has amazing texture and length of finish. The ten months it spent in French oak integrated the fruit and tannins into a truly hedonistic glass of wine. Pair with roasted turkey, seared duck with cherry sauce, grilled salmon and wild mushroom risotto.

Region Description

(pee noh nwahr)—A tricky grape to grow, Pinot Noir makes some of the best wines in the world. The prototype wine is red Burgundy from France but Oregon, California, New Zealand, and parts of Australia also produce good Pinot Noir. The wine is lighter in color than Cabernet or Merlot with relatively high alcohol, medium-to-high acidity, and medium-to-low tannin. Its flavors and aromas can be very fruity or earthy and woodsy, depending on how it is grown. It is rarely blended with other grapes.