2007 Windward Vineyard Monopole Pinot Noir

4g

Chris and I took the kids to California for Spring Break in 2009.  We flew into San Jose and spent the weekend in Aptos and Monterrey with Kevin and his parents.  We planned on driving down to Los Angeles to take the kids to Hollywood and Universal Studios.  We also got to spend a few days with Chris’ family before flying home and back to reality.

On the way down we spent two days in Paso Robles to check out the area and some of the wineries.  We also visited Hearst Castle.  Even though it was a rainy day we enjoy the tour.

While we were at the Turley tasting room, the hospitality person recommended a winery called Windward.  We decided to drive over and check them out.

Bill at Windward Vineyards tasting room

We enjoyed the tasting and the staff in the hospitality room were a lot of fun to be with.  The end results were that we liked the wine and brought a few bottles home with us!

Windward Vineyard is dedicated exclusively to making Burgundian style Pinot Noirs.  The Burgundian French term, “Monopole” is the vision of total control over both the vineyard and the wine making.  Windward uses four notable French clones which are planted in the  15-acre vineyard.

I pulled the cork and poured a glass, I could see the dark color of the wine.  This is not an American style Pinot many people are used to.  You should be able to cellar this wine for many years.

As I smell the wine, I get hints of Bing Cherry and Strawberry.  It also smells more earthy than fruity. This is a very complex wine.  Think of it like a bold Pinot Noir.

Tasting the wine, the light tannins attacked my mid-palate with a very long finish.  I also enjoyed the wine more as is sat out and reached room temp.  I have two more bottles in my cellar.  I will have to try it again in the future to see how it compares.  I suspect it will age beautifully.

I also tried the wine with some Goat cheese and 24 months aged Gouda cheese from Boars Head.  The wine paired excellently with both of them.  Chris made some great crab cakes for dinner which paired well with the Monople as well!

Life is too short to drink crappy wine.  Expand your palate and keep trying.

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