Melissa: I’m begging forgiveness once again my friends. It’s been beyond crazy at the Two Winey Bitches North Jersey offices. I’ve been sitting on this write up for no good reason because honestly I want to shout from the rooftops my love for this featured wine!! You know we’re huge fans of Layer Cake by Jayson Woodbridge, well I was talking to my wine guy George a while back about some selections and he said he was finally getting in 2 cases of Cherry Pie. Needless to say, my eyes lit up and I immediately called dibs on 2 bottles (some greedy person dibbed an entire case!!). See, as the story goes, Mr. Woodbridge had wanted to make a Pinot Noir and sought out the owners of Stanly Ranch, on the Napa side of the Carneros appellation because their grapes were becoming well known as some of the most sought after Pinot Noir grapes in California. They told him they would give him a small allocation to make wine, but future allocations would depend on the quality of the wine he made. After tasting the 2007 Cherry Pie Pinot Noir from the barrel, and deeming it one of the best ever made from their grapes (no big shock for fans of Jayson’s work), the owners of the ranch granted him free rein to choose from the very best blocks of the property for his wine. Needless to say, the allocation of fruit is now whatever he asks for. OK, so I pulled that from the website, but I LOVE the story!! You know what else I love? This here Pinot Noir! I’m a huge Pinot fan to begin with (as anyone who reads the blog knows, it’s my go to wine – my comfort food), I think there is more ability for the winemakers to leverage other subtle flavors that can be overpowered by bolder grapes.
Cherry Pie Pinot Noir Stanly Ranch ~ 2010
Cherry Pie Pinot Noir Stanly Ranch ~ 2010
*Original oil on canvas by TR Colletta
What They Say: 2010 Stanly Ranch Pinot Noir: The nose is redolent of dark bing cherries, hints of black and white pepper on meat roasting in a wood oven, memories of English plum pudding steaming at Christmas, a touch of saddle leather, warm spice and tobacco at a distance. The nose continues to build and unfold with hints of violets and Portobello mushrooms blackberries, minerals and sweet earth. The flavors are very concentrated, after some time in the glass, they open up to show beautiful balance and sophistication, and an elegant, glyceral texture. Dark and intense fruit carries all through the palette, the finish then lingers uncovering a wisp of anise, blackberry honey, and golden pastry roasting in the oven… Cherry Pie. It shows tons of textural richness in its sweet candied red fruit, there is no shortage of lush overt fruit this year. Clearly this wine will be very hard to resist and pairs well with a very large range of foods.
What We Say: I decided to share a bottle of this with friends who offered to have us over for dinner while dealing with Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath. They had heat and DirectTV and offered up some Sunday football. Also noteworthy was the husband came over and spent 3 hours with a chainsaw helping cut up our downed trees. How else could I properly say thank you other than sharing a coveted (yep, I said coveted) wine? Pop open this yummy treat before dinner then serve with whatever you want. Really, this is just as fantastic to sit and sip while watching or enjoy with a nice dinner. We paired it with pepperoni pizza and it was delish!! Tip of the hat to you Mr. Woodbridge!! Vintagepoint.com claims: We drink a lot of it before, during and after meals. It never tires the palate. I couldn’t agree more, this is a fantastic Pinot that is meant to be enjoyed, it’s up do you to decide if you want to share.
Blend Information: 100% Pinot Noir
Price Point: 49.99(-ish) http://cherrypiewines.com/find.html
Website: http://cherrypiewines.com/
