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Storm, Pinot Noir, Duvarita Vineyard

Other, United States 2014 (750mL)
$48.00
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Storm, Pinot Noir, Duvarita Vineyard

The high-end red Burgundy drinkers out there know that it’s becoming frightfully expensive to enjoy your favorite wines, many of which were a quarter of the price just a decade ago. Luckily, this producer is crafting phenomenal Old World expressions of Pinot Noir from our own soils which could easily blend in with top red Burgundies.
Thanks to heirloom clones, a cool climate, and soils which lend a similar Burgundian mineral character, this special ‘Duravita Vineyard’ in Santa Barbara captures all the perfumed qualities we love about the Côte de Nuits. This wine delivers aromatic complexity and riveting tension that would easily demand three times the price in Burgundy. If you are trying to build a collection of the world’s greatest Pinot Noir, this is truly an offer not to overlook. In just a few years, it will be seeing some of its best time for drinking. The word is quickly spreading that winemaker Ernst Storm is making some serious wines—taste this to find out why.
Ernst Storm grew up in South Africa and cultivated his passion for winemaking in the Walker Bay district of the Western Cape. It was in this cool climate wine-growing region that Ernst first fell in love with the maritime influence and the varieties that flourish in coastal environments. Not surprisingly, he was drawn to the sensuous, Mediterranean climate of Santa Barbara County when he landed in the United States. In this special pocket of Santa Barbara AVA, Ernst uncovered a parcel that is blessed with intense winds, more fog, and a climate that allows longer hang time for the grapes, translating to more complexity and the ideal balance of ripeness, acidity and terroir-driven characteristics in his fruit. Ernst not only respects the terroir and voice of his vineyards by picking the grapes at an appropriate ripeness, but he also emphasizes terroir in the finished product by handcrafting his wines in a way that does not strictly emphasize ripe fruit flavors.
 
Derived from the Duravita Vineyard, one of the more extreme sites in Santa Barbara County due to its proximity to the Pacific, this wine delivers fruit that is forced to struggle and retain its acidity, beautiful tension and a terroir-driven expression that is a rarity outside of the Côte de Nuits. The vineyard, found on the western side of the famed Sta. Rita Hills, are biodynamically farmed and comprised of three heirloom clones rooted in Marina sandy loam and clay soils. The wine is crafted with 20% whole clusters and aged for ten months in only 12.5% new, tight-grained French oak, which results in perfectly integrated oak tannins that allow the purity of Pinot Noir and its terroir to shine. Only 200 cases of this wine are made, and it is bottled unadulterated, without fining or filtration. With the prices demanded overseas, this wine is a steal for the beauty found in the glass as well as its potential in the cellar.
 
The 2014 Duvarita Pinot Noir displays a dark ruby core with light ruby and pink reflections on the rim. Savory aromas are perfectly integrated into tense, delicious red and black fruits including black cherry, wild strawberry, candied rhubarb, and pomegranate seeds infused with green tea leaves, a bouquet of wildflowers, a touch of underbrush, and grape stems are only heightened by that overarching exotic perfume that only the finest Pinot Noir can capture. The bright palate emulates the complex expression and tension of a young Chambolle-Musigny with freshly picked strawberry, rhubarb, pomegranate, wet roses, forest floor, wet leaves, and a touch of white pepper that concludes in a delicate, mineral-driven finish. I must stress that this is a young wine with an incredibly bright future. Drink 1-2 bottles in its youth and allow the remainder to rest in your cellar for at least another 3-4 years. Around its 7th or 8th birthday, you will encounter something truly magical if you have the patience. For immediate enjoyment, decant for one hour and serve in Burgundy stems at 60-65 degrees.
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Country
United States
Region
Other
Sub-Region
United StatesVineyard site just west of Sta. Rita Hills Border
Soil
Marina Sand, Clay, and Chamise Shaly Loam
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Pinot Noir
Alcohol
13.5
OAK
12.5% New French Oak
TEMP.
60-65
Glassware
Burgundy
Drinking
3-4 years
Decanting
1 hour

United States

Washington

Columbia Valley

Like many Washington wines, the “Columbia Valley” indication only tells part of the story: Columbia Valley covers a huge swath of Central
Washington, within which are a wide array of smaller AVAs (appellations).

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley has become an elite winegrowing zone in record time. Pioneering vintner David Lett, of The Eyrie Vineyard, planted the first Pinot Noir in the region in 1965, soon to be followed by a cadre of forward-thinking growers who (correctly) saw their wines as America’s answer to French
Burgundies. Today, the Willamette
Valley is indeed compared favorably to Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. And while Pinot Noir accounts for 64% of Oregon’s vineyard plantings, there are cool-climate whites that must not be missed.

California

Santa Barbara

Among the unique features of Santa Barbara County appellations like Ballard Canyon (a sub-zone of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA), is that it has a cool, Pacific-influenced climate juxtaposed with the intense luminosity of a southerly
latitude (the 34th parallel). Ballard Canyon has a more north-south orientation compared to most Santa Barbara AVAs, with soils of sandy
clay/loam and limestone.

California

Paso Robles

Situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet, it is rooted in soils of sandy loam and falls within the Highlands District of the Paso Robles AVA.

New York

North Fork

Wine growers and producers on Long Island’s North Fork have traditionally compared their terroir to that of Bordeaux and have focused on French varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

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