Table of Contents
The Land of the Saints Central Coast Pinot Noir 2021 is 100% Pinot Noir sourced from three vineyards one in the Edna Valley AVA, the next in Arroyo Grande AVA, and the Santa Maria Valley all located inside San Luis Obispo County. For reference, Paso Robles is also inside San Luis Obispo County. It is situated about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The Land of the Saints Central Coast Pinot Noir 2021 is a collaboration between three winemakers and the name comes from the fact that California has many place names with San or Santa in the name. Land of the Saints offers an entire line of Central Coast wines and this is their “entry-level” Pinot Noir. It lists for $24 but I found it in Chicago for $16 on sale.
The Land of the Saints Central Coast Pinot Noir 2021 harvested and fermented the three different vineyard lots separately. Two of the lots had the grapes de-stemmed and 20% of the Santa Maria Valley grapes were whole-cluster meaning the stems and twigs were left with the grapes. Whole cluster grapes are thought to improve the wine’s texture, flavor, and age-ability.
The Land of the Saints Central Coast Pinot Noir 2021 was aged for 11 months in 59-gallon neutral barriques (a barrique is the barrel size used in Bordeaux). Neutral oak barrels do not impart flavor to the wine. The wine aged in neutral barrels has different characteristics from wine aged in stainless steel.
This is a smaller production Pinot Noir with only about 25,000 bottles available. Most of the wine CWF writes about has production13.6% runs in the hundreds of thousands. The alcohol content is 13.6%.
The Land of the Saints Central Coast Pinot Noir 2021 Tasting Notes
The color is a very see-thru garnet red. The nose is cherry, herbs, mushrooms, exotic spice, and a hint of smoke, along with plum. This wine has a good Pinot Noir nose. The Land of the Saints Central Coast Pinot Noir 2021 has a soft mouthfeel with an excellent variety of flavors and textures.
This Pinot Noir tastes like black cherry, a sharp shot of spice, tea, herbs, and cranberry. The mid-palate shows dried strawberries, minerality, orange zest, and jammy raspberry. The tannins are soft and the acidity gives this Pinot Noir good length.
The Summary
- The Land of the Saints Central Coast Pinot Noir 2021 is a fine California Pinot Noir.
- It is a boutique wine without the boutique price.
