2009 Forefront Pinot Noir

5426Forefront is the entry level label for  Pine Ridge Winery. The Forefront Pinot Noir is 100% Pinot Noir grapes sourced from 3 different growing areas, 51% from Santa Barbara, 41% from the Edna Valley of San Luis Obispo and  8% from Monterey, California. Santa Barbara has warm temperature, causing the grapes to ripen quickly, making fruit forward but less complex wine,  San Luis Obispo has cooler temperatures and the grapes have a long maturation process that add to the complexity of the wine and Monterey has higher elevations, cool mornings and warm afternoons. By blending grapes from different areas of the Central Coast, you get a taste of each area while creating a Pinot Noir more complex than any single area could produce. The wine was aged in oak barrels and the alcohol content is 14.1%.

The color is strawberry jello red with a pink halo. The nose is blackberry, mushrooms and herbs upfront, then strawberry with mint.  This is a medium bodied Pinot, with firm tannins and a healthy amount of acidity. Cherry Dr. Pepper comes first, followed by bitter chocolate, pepper and raspberry, the mid-palate adds some blueberry and curry spice. The finish is long and is fairly intense.

The 2009 Forefront Pinot Noir is a first class example of a Central Coast Pinot Noir, fruit forward, but with some complexity. Well made and balanced, the acidity makes the Forefront Pinot an excellent food wine, the perfect wine for one of your creative and complicated recipes.

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Don’t tell anyone, but there is absolutely no correlation between the cost of wine and the quality of wine.

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