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The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve San Luis Obispo Coast Pinot Noir 2022 is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive.
The San Luis Obispo Coast AVA is new, founded in 2022, and includes the Edna Valley AVA and the Arroyo Secco AVA. These are all cool climate AVAs.
Paso Robles is more inland and specializes in warm-weather grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel.
The San Luis Obispo Coast AVA and Paso Robles are in San Luis Obispo County.
The San Luis Obispo Coast AVA is the coolest California AVA and the soil was once ancient seafloor.
The San Luis Obispo Coast AVA runs along the Pacific Ocean for 60 miles.
The cool temperatures allow the Pinot Noir grape (SLO does Chardonnay too) a long growing season that lets the grapes come to full complexity.
Like virtually all Trader Joe’s Reserve wine, there are no production notes, which can be a problem since how Pinot Noir is made is important.
The trade-off is you get a wine from an elite AVA for a bargain price.
This Pinot Noir has an alcohol content of 14.5%, which is high for Pinot Noir. 14.5% is something you would expect from a Cabernet Sauvignon.
Alcohol can give a wine “body” and too much “body” can mask some interesting Pinot Noir flavors.
The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve San Luis Obispo Coast Pinot Noir 2022 Tasting Notes
The color is a clear, see-through garnet Red. The nose is sweet black cherry, herbs, mushrooms, crushed autumn leaves, plums, and violets. The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve San Luis Obispo Coast Pinot Noir 2022 is medium-bodied with a mix of smooth and rough-edged flavors.
This Pinot Noir tastes like black cherry, black pepper, a slap of exotic speed, plum, and strawberry. The mid-palate adds a splash of vanilla cream, cranberry, and a rough-edge spice.
The tannins are sweet and the acidity is well-balanced.
The Summary
- The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve San Luis Obispo Coast Pinot Noir 2022 is an interesting wine.
- It has too much body for my preferences in Pinot Noir, but it drinks well and every sip does over a new sensation.
- It is well worth a try at $12.99 and the flavor is very enticing.
