Wine of the Week: 2010 Garnet Vineyards Carneros Pinot Noir

“You don’t have to be clinically insane to make Pinot Noir, but it’s a distinct advantage.” ~ Michael Hill Smith, co-owner of Australia's Shaw & Smith winery.

Well the weekend is almost here, I can actually see it from here, too bad I have to work most weekends, but that is beside the point.

So for you nine to five folks, who've earned the right to not work on the weekends, I've got a bottle of Pinot Noir in this weeks spot-light that will make your weekend plans shine even brighter.

I encountered this bottle of wine the other night via an invitation from the great folks at Wine Twits who were kind enough to have a few samples sent my way so that I could fully participate in the lively conversation on Twitter. 

If you'd like to check out the conversation, it's very easy to still follow along and interact by clicking on the hash-tag #WITS2012, where you can see everything from tasting notes, snarky comments and just plain-fun interactions shared among fascinating vino-sapiens like yourself.


This fantastic example of cool-climate Pinot Noir comes to you from the Carneros region, located or I should say wedged nicely between Sonoma and Napa. Carneros became an official AVA in 1983, tattooing a distinctive imprint on the grapes grown in this region, a region where Pinot Noir and Chardonnay show quite nicely.

The wine in today’s wine of the week spotlight is the 2010 Garnet "Carneros Pinot Noir, which comes under screw-cap [meaning drink now and drink often] and sells right here in San Diego for just $17 on sale at Bevmo. This folks is possibly one of the best Pinot Noir wines I've had from the Carneros region in sometime and by far one of the very best values you will come across any time soon. My hat is off to their winemaker, Alison Crowe for a job well done; feel free to connect with her @alisoncrowewine if you have any questions.

I wouldn't doddle too long if I were you, I've just seen the review by the Huffington Post's epic wine reviewer Richard Jennings, who gave this wine 92 points today on Cellar Tracker. 

A score which is consistent with Wilfred Wong's own score and of course with my own score of 93 points. So this is your chance to get to the head of the line, because honestly this is case purchase time, ten thousand cases may seem like quite a bit, but honestly it will go fast once folks sniff out this bargain.

Once I unscrewed this wines twist-off cap, the party got started right away. It was no fuss, no muss, once out of the bottle and into my glass this wine came dressed to impress, taking my palate by storm. I was overwhelmed by its finesse, the approach was nothing short of 100% silk. I found this wine tremendously complex, offering a full array of flavors.

This wine offers the thirsty vino-sapien refreshing acidity, a complex flavor of strawberry jam spread across medium toast and cherries in a lovely coat of sandalwood floating on the highly polished tannins, leading to a long deep finish. 

This wine so captivated me so much that I had some-how easily slurped down the entire bottle before Mrs. Cuvee could get home to give it a swirl for herself [shhhh].

Pairing choices are pretty limitless with this wine, another food and wine pairing champion sure to rock your palate. The kind of wine that won’t get in the way of what you eat, instead compliments each bite. But if I was going to go for a classic summer time pairing Tuna Tartare [Ahi] would be my go-to choice. But be advised to go easy on the fresh shallots or risk overwhelming the wine, so to soften the approach, you may want to sauté the shallots a bit, to add a bit of carmelization and thus round-out those flavors.

Okay folks, that’s it for today, there you have it folks my recommendation to put a sparkle in your weekend plans and lots of smiles to whomever you share this with. Until next time, remember to sip long and prosper cheers!