The Trader Joe’s Reserve Santa Barbara Pinot Noir 2024 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s wine, produced and bottled by (that means they made it) Bozzano and Company.
The Story
Bozzano & Company is a wine company based in the Central Coast AVA of California. They have made many wines for Trader Joe’s. Check out their website you may find some of your favorites.
The Trader Joe’s Reserve Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir has been available for several vintages. Here is a link to the 2023 vintage.
For decades, California wine vintages stayed consistent from year to year. There would be local differences here and there, but most years were good years.
Now, with the extreme heat and rainfall as the norm, you can no longer take the vintages for granted.
Santa Barbara County AVA is around 100 miles north of Los Angeles. It should be too warm for most grapes there, but geography is in its favor. A triangle-shaped bit of land, not quite a peninsula, draws cold Pacific breezes from the north and south as well as the west. The mountains keep the fog and the cool winds in.
So the Santa Barbara AVA can produce excellent Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. There are several high-end sub-AVAs, but this Pinot Noir seems to be sourced from more than one sub-AVA.
The Trader Joe’s Reserve Santa Barbara Pinot Noir 2024 is aged with oak, and the alcohol content is 14.3%. Pinot Noir tends to be a light-bodied wine, and higher alcohol can give a wine more body. A good winemaker can deal with this problem, so on to the tasting section.
The Trader Joe’s Reserve Santa Barbara Pinot Noir 2024 Tasting Notes
The color is a see-through garnet red. The nose is black cherry, herbs, a hint of smoke, raspberry, dusty spice, and pencil lead. Not bad for a $10 Pinot. The Trader Joe’s Reserve Santa Barbara Pinot Noir 2024 is medium-bodied with interesting flavor.
This Pinot Noir tastes like ripe cherry, a slap of sharp spice, herbs, plum, tart cranberry, a little vanilla, and leather.
The tannins are smooth, and the acidity provides structure and length.
The Summary
- The Trader Joe’s Reserve Santa Barbara Pinot Noir 2024 is a very drinkable ten-buck Pinot Noir.
- Smooth with rich flavor and interesting spice.
