Laetitia Vineyard & Winery, Arroyo Grande Valley (Monterey County, California) Pinot Noir 2013

Another beautiful, budget friendly Pinot Noir from a producer that doesn’t get nearly as much credit as it deserves.  Winemaker Eric Hickey shows his blending skill on this bottling, a mix of ten different clones grown on Laetitia’s estate vineyards, most of which were planted back in the 1980’s when the property was held by Maison Deutz, a joint venture spearheaded by Deutz of Champagne, France.  It’s classic cool climate wine, with bright acidity propping up deep black cherry, blackberry, moderate fall spice and damp earth aromas and flavors. It’s made the way that bold pinot should be made — big on flavor without depending on overripe fruit to deliver it. Wine of this quality that is produced in a large enough quantity to make it easy to find are difficult to come by.  Excellent work!