2016 Mount Eden Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate
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Tasting notes
The 2016 Pinot Noir Estate opens with a broad, perfumed and classic nose of dehydrated strawberry, Earl Grey tea, dried herbs and rose petal aromas. The palate is dark and voluptuous, with robust fruit flavors framed by tangy acidity and fine-grained, drying tannins. This fragrant, herbal and savory vintage is a favorite from the modern era at Mount Eden, and I look forward to watching it over the next decade or more.
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Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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The 2016 Pinot Noir is especially delicate and perfumed, with lovely red berry, tobacco, cedar and dried flower notes laced throughout. Medium in body, with bright acids, the 2016 is likely to enjoy a long life in the cellar. Yields were down sharply, the result of bad weather in bloom and vines that were exhausted after several years of intense drought conditions. In some ways. the 2016 reminds me of the 2014. The similarities will be even greater if the 2016 gains a bit more volume in aging.
The 2016 Pinot Noir is an attractive and highly expressive wine, but it is also a bit light relative to the norm here. Red berry fruit, blood orange and a range of floral/savory notes are all very nicely lifted. Given its mid-weight structure, I would prefer to drink the 2016 on the earlier side, although that, too, is relative. These Pinots have a track record of aging gracefully, something that was evident when I tasted through a vertical for an upcoming article a few months ago. The 2016 was done with 35% whole clusters and saw 50% new oak.