Pinot Noir, 2020. Sea Sun

We are very thrilled to offer another outstanding wine from the Wagner Family whose roots in Napa go back to the 1850s. Like the Wine of the Month Club, they are celebrating their 50th anniversary since founding Caymus Winery, now considered Napa Royalty.

The winemaker, Charlie Wagner, is the son of Caymus owner Chuck Wagner, and now a heralded winemaker in his own right. Charlie grew up in the wine business and thusly is familiar with it literally from the ground up. While Napa may be one of the finest areas to grow Cabernet Sauvignon, there are very few areas suitable for Pinot Noir.

So, Charlie headed south along California's coast to find the cooler influences of the ocean coupled with sunshine to attain proper ripeness. Sea Sun was born. Charlie carefully blends grapes from several vineyards along the coast to produce a layered wine with balance and character. He has succeeded in all respects.

This 100% Pinot Noir was aged in oak barrels for close to a year in order to attain a spice and vanilla character to balance the deep cherry fruit. The cooler temperature allows him to pick the grapes later in the season after they have reached perfect ripeness, but not this higher alcohols, which can alter the grapes critical balance. The result is a classic Pinot Noir with all the nuanced fruit and flavors we have come to enjoy with this grape. From the cherry blossom to the spice and vanilla, matching with duck breast or grilled squab would be divine.

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