2012 La Crema Monterey Pinot Noir

Here we are at the second wine of the Snooth virtual tasting of the wines of La Crema, a quality producer of wine from Santa Rosa, Calif.  The next wine is the 2012 Monterey Pinot Noir, now of course having lived for a while in Portland, you know my bias towards Oregon Pinot Noir, particularly those from the Willamette Valley, but I'll still keep an open mind on this effort from California!

The wine is a lighter color in the glass, quite typical of pinot noir.  The nose is classic pinot, tart fruit notes, cherry and blackberry, and a hint of leather and tar.  The taste is warm and pleasant, makes me feel like I'm enjoying a nice summer evening on the patio.  Very nice fruit, blueberry and strawberry notes with some nice minerality midpalate.  The finish is quite nice with some tartness but very smooth and dry, very creamy and quite reminiscent of many Oregon pinots. 

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 7.5, as it's a really nice example of a fine pinot noir, very light, warm and smooth.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with some oven roasted pork loin chops, mashed potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts, but I could see this one being lovely with some poached salmon with wild mushroom risotto as well.  Cheers!