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The Upper Eden Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir 2022 is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive wine bottled by Upper Eden Wines, a Bozzano & Company custom wine producer located in San Luis Obispo, California. They have produced some of the more interesting recent Trader Joe’s wine.
The name Upper Eden comes from Steinbeck’s book East of Eden which takes place in the Salinas Valley near where the grapes are grown.
The Santa Lucia Highlands runs parallel to the Pacific Coast in the heights above the SAlinas Valley to the west. This is a premier Pinot Noir Growing region with cool tempuratures and a long growing season. The cool air from the Monterey Bay are drawn in giving the AVA a moderate climate alomg with early fog to protect the vineyards from morning heat.
There are no production or tasting notes availablefor the Upper Eden but Cheapwinefinder did review the 2019 vintage and here is what we thought.
This review is being written a few weeks before Thanksgiving 2024 and here are a few musings on why Pinot Noir wine pairs with the Thanksgiving meal. Turkey was a mild flavor and a large wine can overpower the flavor. A Pinot Noir is a focused light to medium bodied wine with a base cherry flavor that balances with turkey and adds to the overall harvest vibe of the meal. The acidity in Pinot Noir will also handel the sweet patato cassorol and other rich side dishes.
The acohol content is a ripe 14%.
The Upper Eden Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir 2022 Tasting Notes
The color is an see-through garnet red with black highlights. The nose is cherry, herbs, crushed fall leaves, spice, raspberry, and a floral edge. The Upper Eden Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir 2022 is smooth upfront with a slightly more rugged finish and a long finish.
This Pinot Noir tastes like tart cherry, a shot of spice, herbs, and plum. The mid-palate offers strawberry, orange zest, a little blueberry, and pomegranate.
The tannins are light, they are in the mix but do not pull. The acidity is well-conyrolled and provides the structure for the flavors to linger.
The Summary
- The Upper Eden Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir 2022 is an excekkent well-priced single AVA Pinot Noir.
- Not a bad choice for Thanksgiving, it has the flavor to match much of the food and the body to cleanse the palate.
