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Wine Recommendation
Silver Mountain Vineyards
2004 Pinot Noir, Tondre's Grapefield(Santa Lucia Highlands)
Silver Mountain Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains makes vineyard-designate Pinot Noir from a number of areas, such as this all-Pinot Noir vineyard in the heart of Monterey’s Santa Lucia Highlands. Silver Mountain’s winemaker, Tony Craig, has a lot of experience with these grapes: He used them while he was at David Bruce, and now he makes Tondré Grapefield vineyard-designate Pinots for Silver Mountain, for the Tondré label (owned by vineyard owners Joe and Penny Alarid), and for his own label, Sonnet.
Craig maintains a tricky balancing act, crafting a wine that’s opulent yet well-balanced. In short, it’s utterly delicious. The wine, which sells for $38, displays juicy flavors of raspberry and cherry with a hint of rhubarb and accents of spice and vanilla. It has a long, supple finish. It’s a wine that should please lovers of big, rich Pinot Noir, but it should also appeal to purists who grouse about how too many Pinots taste like Syrah (me included). Drink it with roast chicken, rare duck breast or perhaps grilled pork tenderloin.
Reviewed February 1, 2007 by Laurie Daniel.
Other Awards & Accolades
Gold Medal - 2007 Dallas Morning News Wine Competition
Other reviewed wines from Silver Mountain Vineyards
 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, Weideman Ranch (Santa Clara Valley)Laura Ness 10/19/2007 |
The Wine
Winery: Silver Mountain Vineyards |
The Reviewer
Laurie Daniel
Laurie Daniel, wine columnist for the San Jose Mercury News, has been reviewing wine for more than 10 years. She doesn’t use numbers, preferring to describe her recommended wines and let consumers decide for themselves. Laurie believes that bigger isn’t necessarily better; she’s partial to wines of balance, finesse and character. Her particular interests are Pinot Noir (versions that really taste like Pinot, that is) and aromatic whites like Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Gewürztraminer. |