Cherry Blossom Pinot Noir 2014, California
The label says, Cherry Blossom. It lies.
The wine is not floral to start. But if you allow it chilled-down to 10 Celcius, open it up for 30 minutes full-decanted, and as soon as the burning gasoline, perm-marker, potpourri and liquorice bit is gone, it begins to smell like a lavender-nosed Pinot Noir. There are cherries, herbs, vanilla, savoury mushroom and a little smoke. On the palate, fruit-forward(cherries, plums), dry Pinot with some funky flavours on the mid-palate deemed good enough with continental food. Some complexities, with lots of value.
That passively aggressive, dryish sweet undertones make this a versatile food wine with a backslash of tart black cherry, cranberry, bitter dark chocolate and a touch of cold coffee, though it fades early like cherry blossoms in the spring.
In our ongoing search for the most exceptional value wines from around the world, we bumped into this little gem of the wine, produced by Bronco Wine Company from California. Bronco's wines are sold in over 90 countries around the world. The winery is the fourth largest wine producer, and the largest vineyard owner, in the United States.
The best citation can we find is from Wine Enthusiast’s Annual Wine Star Awards 2011 for being American Winery of the Year:
“Most people may never have heard of Bronco Wine Company, even though it’s the fourth largest producer in the U.S. But everybody knows at least some of its brands: Napa Ridge, Forest Glen, the famous Charles Shaw (Two Buck Chuck) and scores of others. Almost all are value-priced, making them the perfect go-to wines for Americans feeling squeezed by the recession.”
With Bronco's access to such a huge amount of raw materials and their drive to continuously produce well-crafted and extremely well-priced wines, it is no surprise that we can offer this delectable little treat at such an outstanding price.
Official Tasting for vintage 2014 is as follows:
“Bright, warm nose of crushed black plums, cranberry juice, cherries, milk chocolate, licorice root and little hints of oak. The palate is consistent with the nose; crushed red berries, cherries, plums, raspberry coulis, cranberry fondant and copious amounts of phenols and earthy minerals with underlying hints of aniseed powder. The mid-palate is rich and forward with good amounts of balance between fruit and acidity, as well as good tannin structure. The finish is very fine with hints of cranberries and mineral notes.”
