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The Caretaker Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir 2022 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. It is produced for them by the Miller Family Wine Company. The Miller Family has farmed in the Central Coast since 1871 and started their winery in 1973. They own the Central Coast Wine Warehouse, a specialty wine producer, that seemed to make half of Trader Joe’s wines ten years ago. They have extensive vineyard holdings and own some of the finest vineyards on the Central Coast.
Santa Maria Valley AVA is inside the Santa Barbara County AVA. The Valley runs east-west which is rare in California and funnels the cool Pacific Ocean breezes into the valley. This region is prime for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Rhone grape varietals.
High-end expensive Pinot Noir wines feature specific Pinot Noir grape clones, certain combinations are prosed and different wineries are known for their specific Pinot Noir clone wines. Value-priced Pinot Noir wines rarely feature chosen clones, it is more important to use quality grapes at the right price than to get caught up in the details.
The Caretaker Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir 2022 uses the Pommard Clone, 2A, and the 23. The Pommard clone is one of the oldest clones taken from a cutting from a single vineyard near the town of Pommard in Burgundy, France. The 2A and the 23 clones are newer (the 1960s) and developed in Switzerland. The best clones have unique flavors that have defined PInot Noir in the last 100 years.
The growing season was from late February to mid-October, the back label mentions shale, limestone, and sandy loam for the soil conditions which suggests they used grapes for a few vineyards. The wine saw some kind of French oak treatment, barrel or otherwise.
The Caretaker Pinot Noir has very solid production details for a $9.99 wine. The alcohol content is 13.6%.
The Caretaker Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir 2022 Tasting Notes
The color is a see-through garnet. The nose is smokey, and herbal, with ripe cherry, dark chocolate (faint), cranberry, spice, and violets. The Caretaker Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir 2022 is medium to light-bodied with subtle complex flavors.
This Pinot Noir tastes like black cherry, cold coffee, slightly rough-edged spice, plum, and herbs. The mid-palate brings tart cranberry, dried strawberry, leather, and licorice.
The tannins are soft and smooth and the acidity is well managed and gives this Pinot good length.
The Summary
- The Caretaker Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir 2022 is an excellent Pinot Noir that just happens to sell for $9.99.
- Good flavor, decent complexity, and excellent length.
