What if the madness of men in pursuit of excellence leads to an affordable yet exquisite Pinot Noir? Discover the captivating story of Folly of the Beast 2022, crafted by the passionate winemaker Ryan Zotovich. Inspired by a quote from Moby Dick, this wine’s journey stretches across the Central Coast, from Santa Barbara to Monterey, in a quest to create a budget-friendly masterpiece. Join me, Domain Dave, as I share my tasting experience, highlighting the wine’s unique light body and subtle flavors that stand in contrast to modern, ripe styles. Uncover the secrets behind its delicate texture and minerality, and learn about the role of a long growing season in achieving this wine’s remarkable balance.
In this episode, we take you on an aromatic adventure with a nose that captures the essence of crushed autumn leaves and cherries. Listen as I sip and savor, describing the full flavor and surprising textures that unfold on the palate. Explore the art of crafting a standout Pinot Noir without overpowering the senses, and hear how Ryan’s connections with various vineyards played a pivotal role in this wine’s creation. Whether you’re a wine connoisseur or just beginning your journey, gain insights into the artistry and madness that goes into producing a wine that is sure to enchant at a price that won’t break the bank.
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0:02
Call me Domain Dave, not Ishmael. This is the wine we found for $14.99 at a local wine shop. It's Folly of the Beast, pinot Noir 2022. And the Folly of the Beast is from a quote from Herman Melville's Moby Dick, and we'll get into that why and that name, but here's the quote. The quote is there is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men. So there you go. This is for mad people to drink, or happy people. I think happy is probably better. So this is a wine.
Speaker 1:
0:42
The winemaker he's been around. He's got Ryan Zotovich. He has some BG. Okay, I can't remember the name of the. I got links to everything on the website, on the cheapwinefindercom, and what this wine is and why it's called that because, like Ahab's obsession with getting the great white whale, he wanted to make the very best affordable Pinot Noir from the Central Coast. It was an obsession and he finally got it. It's madness to want to do that and I don't make my own wine, so I don't know what it takes, but these are from vineyards up and down the coast. He worked for a bunch of different Clifton Brewer Brewer, clifton Seasmoke a bunch of different ones out in the area.
Speaker 1:
1:41
I'm going to take a sip of this wine. It's really good. Yeah, this is old school Pinot Noir. If you got into Pinot Noir through Miomi now this is it for you. I mean, this is the light, subtle, flavorful, weird funky flavors that at first you go what the heck's going on here? And after that you can't get enough of it, and he's been so. Ryan was looking everywhere trying to get this and I think they finally got it right, and I think he did too. I think it lists for around $20, and I found it for $15. It's well, it's everywhere. There's a lot of this wine available. It's got a whale tail on it. So if he was actually obsessed, his obsession paid off because this thing works. It's got a nice mouthfeel. Like I've kind of forgot about writing about mouthfeel when I write reviews because they all kind of felt the same.
Speaker 1:
2:46
This one's got a difference to it. The nose is beautiful. It's got the crazy, the crushed autumn leaves. It's got maybe tar. It's got cherries. It's got the minerality. It's got these weird spices. Really nice. It's light-bodied.
Speaker 1:
3:08
Some of the Pinot Noirs are 14.5. Nowadays this is still in the 13s, I think 13.6. The alcohol is a product of how ripe the grapes were, because you want to get a long, long growing season and you don't want them to get too ripe too soon. That's not a good thing. So when you see a wine that's gone through, or grapes that have gone through, a long growing season and still haven't gotten to 14.5 or whatever, that's a good sign. And I know that modern Pinot Noirs ripe is better, but trust me, it isn't. Modern Pinot Noirs ripe is better, but trust me, it isn't. None of the expensive, famous Pinot Noirs are the ripe style. They're all this kind of crazy cool wine.
Speaker 1:
3:56
I'm going to take another sip. Yeah, light, light, light and subtle, subtle, full of flavor. The uh, weird, not weird texture, nice textures in the mid palate that hit you, you'll smack in your lip. The acidity is fine but you're not really noticing the acidity. But it gives the, gives the flavors and textures plenty of time to unfold.
Speaker 1:
4:25
So I don't know, I mean I'm not sure how many vineyards. They don't tell you everything. How we went about doing this, they don't say but from vineyards all the way up and down the coast, I guess from Santa Barbara to Monterey, and you know, and winemakers, they work for all these places. They know people, they go hey, you got grapes. I'm looking to do this. What do you got available? And that's how things work, especially when you have these winemaker wines rather than wine company wines, where they're just using their own vineyards, which are usually pretty good. I'm not going to complain about that.
Speaker 1:
5:00
But this is trying to be a step above. This is trying to be a step. This is trying to be a step, not trying to be a well-priced Pinot Noir, but a very good Pinot Noir that's well-priced. Not that the regular Pinot Noirs are bad I really like them but this one reminds me of a Pinot Noir, maybe at twice the price. I mean, this was $15, $14.99. And I don't think that's far off base to say that I'm going to take another sip.
Speaker 1:
5:35
So, if you want to get an old school Pinot Noir and you're not a Miomi fan or you were Miomi, and you want to know what Pinot Noir used to taste like the Folly of the Beast Pinot Noir 2022, it's 100% Pinot Noir. Used to taste like the Folly of the Beast Pinot Noir 2022. It's 100% Pinot Noir. It's all from the Central Coast AVA. It's from a winemaker who was obsessed with making the best wine for the best price, which is a good obsession. It's better than killing whales. So that's it for me. Domain Dave cheapwinefightercom. Check out the website. I've got all the links to it there so you can find out more about the wine. It's a good one.
Speaker 1:
6:13
This is the kind of Pinot Noir that I like. So if I'm just going, oh, this is great, this is where I caught on Pinot Noir. Miomi's fine, but I think of Miomi more as a petite Syrah Zivendandel blend than a Pinot Noir. Not that I and I like that, but it's not Pinot to me. This is and so it's again the following, the beast. It's about madness, and hey, if this is what madness brings you, then give me more of it. So, adios, keep it cheap. I've got another Shen and Block coming up, so I'll be talking to you in a couple of it. So, adios, keep it cheap. I've got another Shed and Block coming up, so I'll be talking to you in a couple of days. Keep it cheap, bye-bye.
