Can one size fit all? With today's offer, the answer might just be YES!
Today's wine is a hard-won triumph. We'll admit to being particularly proud of this offer as we've been searching for a good California Pinot Noir for well over six months, to no avail. Even though we've had requests for a follow-up to the Baileyana just about weekly, we've remained silent. (Our last New World Pinot offer was in December of last year!)
It's very easy to find great wines that are expensive - the work is finding the gem in the rough, the bottle with that something extra that sets it apart from the crowd and has the reasonable price tag to boot.
With the 2006 Monterey Pinot Noir we found more than we were looking for, at much less than we expected.
Today we can offer solid cases of the '06 Monterey Pinot for less than $180 so grab a case (and perhaps a backup as we just never know how long our stock will last) and consider yourself very well stocked for just about *anything* this summer can throw at you, including the upcoming holiday weekends - July 4th will come quicker than you think.
To be perfectly honest, we were on the hunt for a summer Pinot in the $30 price range as that's where we've usually found the greatest quality and value. But after months of staining our teeth with horrible, sugary Pinot Noir-like concoctions, this wine shocked us back to life with its purity, richness and finesse. It just happened to be half the price of what we expected!
Let's not be shy here because this is one of the most exciting "Back Up the Truck" offerings to come down the pipeline in a long while! The '06 Monterey is without a doubt our go-to Pinot Noir for Summer 2009. While it has that tell-tale Pinot Noir finesse, it also shows the depth of fruit and power that somehow only Cali Pinot can muster and a deft use of wood frames the full fruit and gives a nice kick of spice.
We thought the richness of this Pinot (which is, by the way, not at all over the top) would be particularly good on the summer dinner table which is just as likely to present BBQ ribs as it is summer vegetables. There's a full tasting note below, but rest assured the Monterey is also just plain smooth enough to drink on its own.
Value always begins in the vineyard and the Monterey Vineyard Pinot is sourced from Santa Lucia Highland fruit. Pinot fans will have no doubt heard of the Pisoni and Sleepy Hollow Vineyards, which produce some of the most coveted and expensive fruit out there. As this area is being further explored, new discoveries are being found that present great value - more here.
The luck part of the formula is even trickier to pin down but of course the vintage played a big part: 2006 was a good year in central California. Rich, ripe wines with plenty of muscle and stuffing are the hallmark and the Monterey shows this off in spades. If 2006 isn't considered a "great" vintage, this has affected the price of the bottle more than it has the quality in the bottle.
Timing, as always, never hurts. Everything slows down in the summer, and we approached the distributor just as they were getting eager to move some juice. So we were able to take advantage of this timing to lock up one big parcel at a very sharp price. It's as simple as that and we're happy to just pass the savings right on to you.
The wine arrives today at the store so feel free to stop on by to pick up your bottles. As stated, we've secured a large parcel of the 2006 Monterey, but we're always surprised by how quickly serious value Pinot Noir is snapped up, so we're not making any promises! Best just to call the store at (212) 980-9463 or click below to order.
