McIntyre Vineyards Winemaker Series Pinot Noir by Don Van Staaveran 2021

Written By Campbell Mattinson
Bottle of McIntyre Vineyards Winemaker Series Pinot Noir by Don Van Staaveran 2021.

McIntyre Vineyards Winemaker Series Pinot Noir by Don Van Staaveran 2021
14.4% alcohol, cork, Santa Lucia Highlands, California.

This was grown on a Pinot Noir vineyard that is now over 50 years old, which is remarkable in both New World terms (in general) and in Santa Lucia Highlands AVA terms in particular

It’s a powerful Pinot Noir offering woodsmoke, reductive notes, layers of macerated cherries, chicory and woodsy spice characters. The firm, spicy, smoky tannin has a genuine flex to it, and at all points this wine feels polished, not to mention impressive. I tasted this at dinner, which is an ideal/not ideal way to assess wine, particularly when there’s a number of wines on the table. My final words, in my notes, were “clarity of vision” which, in the cold light of day, don’t entirely make sense to me. The score I wrote was 92-93 points.

Campbell Mattinson

Campbell Mattinson has been an independent journalist, wine critic and photographer for forty years. He founded The Winefront, is a former chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion (and former editor of Halliday magazine), and is the only Australian to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once. He is 100% independent, and tastes between 5,000 and 10,000 wines each year, blind and in comparative brackets as often as is practicable.

More about Campbell Mattinson

Mattinson is also the founder of the Mattinson Photography business.

https://www.campbellmattinson.com
Previous

Hope Family Austin Chardonnay NV
Next

ROAR Wines Soberanes Vineyard Chardonnay 2023