Leese - Fitch

2008 California Pinot Noir

Notes

With deep plum color, this 2008 Pinot Noir has an exotic nose of strawberry and raspberry jam with notes of fresh oregano and wild game. The palate starts with tart cherry fruit and then develops into layers of dried fruit; strawberry and figs, herbs; oregano and thyme, and earth; wild mushrooms. The acidity makes this wine very food friendly. The flavors seem to change with every sip as it continues to open up over time. That developing complexity is what kept us so intrigued with this overall blend.

This blend was assembled mostly from Pinot Noir grapes grown on a corner of one of our favorite Pinot Noir vineyards in Monterey near an active creek bed. For this reason, this vineyard is a well irrigated and very vigorous requiring a lot of pruning. The grapes that come from this corner are fermented separate from the rest of the block. We liked what we saw from the 2008 vintage and set this lot aside specifically for Leese Fitch. The combination of this lot was paired with a touch of Pinot Noir from another block in Monterey, a dab of Lodi Ruby Cab for color, and Paso Robles Grenache for a hint of spice and mushroom nuances. During our tasting, we kept coming back to this blend and were amazed at how the wine changed over the course of time. It wasn’t your standard glass of Pinot Noir. Over the course of the tasting trials, we continued to imagine what it would be like with food over the course of a dinner. That is what drove home this choice for our blend, the complexity and savory nature of this specific Pinot Noir blend.

Pairings

This wine would pair well with grilled flank steak with chimichurri and stir fried green beans with a black bean sauce, sautéed Salmon with creamed spinach and roasted parsnips, or roasted beet salad with fresh chevre, thinly sliced red onion, and arugula.