2018 Pastorale Vineyard Pinot Noir
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Tasting notes
Medium ruby in color, the 2018 Pinot Noir Pastorale Vineyard opens slowly to alluring scents of blood orange, licorice, autumn leaves and intense layers of amaro spices with a core of perfectly ripe red and black fruits, continuing to offer more nuance as it sits in the glass. The light-bodied palate is incredibly silky and juicy, its tannins defined and ripe and its flavors full and layered, and it finishes very long with kaleidoscopic spicy character. What a gorgeous expression! It was aged 14 months in 50% new French oak, and 2,425 cases were made.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Erin Brooks, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2018 Pinot Noir Pastorale Vineyard is a more firm, backward wine that will benefit from bottle age. Impressive black raspberries, forest floor, black tea, and curing spice notes emerge from the glass, and it's medium-bodied, has good concentration, ripe tannins, and a solid spine of acidity. It's another impeccably made, beautifully balanced Pinot Noir from this estate. Give bottles 2-3 years and it should keep for a solid decade or more.
About the producer
California winery Joseph Phelps is best known for its flagship Insignia cuvée, one of the first and finest proprietary red wines in the Napa Valley.