2019 Mount Eden Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate

The 2019 Pinot Noir is an outstanding and memorable wine, a tremendously light, bright, and complex reflection of the great site from a great vintage. Lovely aromatics of orange peel, cranberry, and Bing cherry wrap around a supple mid-palate of earthy rose and violet, the tannins unobtrusive and the acidity balanced. Lengthy, the wine takes on different nuances along the mid-palate, showing more forest and black tea, adding a quiet density that stretches to a formidable finish. This wine wows now but should drink well for another 20-25 years. Mount Eden is one of the most historic and storied names in the Santa Cruz Mountains, founded in 1945 at 2,000-feet elevation. Longtime owner/winemaker Jeffrey Patterson came to work as the assistant winemaker here in 1981. In 2007, he bought the old 55-acre Cinnabar Winery for Domaine Eden, a sister brand. Patterson describes the Santa Cruz Mountains as “a vertical place,” its Chaine d’Or stretching from Thomas Fogarty on its northern end south to Rhys, Ridge, Mount Eden, and Domaine Eden. Patterson and his family acquired the majority of the winery in 2008, and the second generation remains involved. Austin Chin has been assistant winemaker since 2018.