2021 Busy Signal Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir
Busy Signal?
Beep…beep…beep
Do you remember that noise?
That was the sound you heard when you called someone and they were busy with something else and couldn’t take your call. These days we seem to always take someone’s call or respond to their text or reply to their IG story.
This wine is designed to take you away from all that…back to a simpler time when one thing commanded your attention. It’s a show stopping wine that tell you to put down your phone, ignore the outside world, and concentrate on what’s in the glass in front of you.
It’s your busy signal. Activate it by pulling the cork. The world can wait.
2021 Dial Tone Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir
Dial Tone?
Do you remember what a dial tone sounded like? It was the sound of possibilities. A dial tone was the
beginning of you asking that girl out on a date. It was the start of you catching up with your daughter
who was away at college for the first time. A dial tone was what you first heard when you called your
parents and told them you were engaged.
When you heard that hum you knew you were about to be brought together with someone. This wine is
like that. Dial Tone Pinot Noir is meant to bring people together. Open a bottle on that date, share a
glass with your daughter when she comes home from college, and drink it while celebrating your life
with someone.
Possibilities. They all start with a Dial Tone.
2021 Beau Marchais Soberanes Vineyard Sud Pinot Noir
Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey County
2021 Beau Marchais Soberanes Vineyard Sud Pinot Noir – The Soberanes Vineyard is in the Santa Lucia Highlands in Monterey County and farmed by the dynamic farming duo of Mark Pisoni and Gary Franscioni. The Southern (sud) end of this property ripens earlier than the rest of the vineyard and tends to show a more lush, rich character. Philippe called himself a “child of the south” and I think he’d very much like this wine from the Sud.
95-93 POINTS JEB DUNNUCK, 93 POINTS PURELY DOMESTIC WINE REPORT
2021 Beau Marchais Soberanes Vineyard Nord Pinot Noir
Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey County
2021 Beau Marchais Soberanes Vineyard Nord Pinot Noir – The Northern portion of the Soberanes Vineyard ripened a full two weeks later in 2021 than the Sud portion. This produced a wine with somewhat lower alcohol and more backbone. Oh, it’s still a Beau Marchais wine – but one that will appeal more to those that appreciate more structure in their wines. Quite frankly, this wasn’t Philippe’s preferred style although he very much appreciated this type of wine.
97 POINTS PURELY DOMESTIC WINE REPORT, 94-92 POINTS JEB DUNNUCK
2021 Beau Marchais Clos Pepe Vineyard Pinot Noir
Santa Rita Hills, Santa Barbara County
2021 Beau Marchais Clos Pepe Vineyard Pinot Noir – The Clos Pepe Vineyard is one of the most famous Pinot Noir vineyards in Santa Barbara County. I began working with this fruit in its inaugural 2000 vintage, and thanks to the kindness of WALT WINES (who now leases the vineyard), Philippe and I were able to purchase this fruit for Beau Marchais. To my taste this wine combines that richness of the Sud with the structure of the Nord, while possessing a darker fruit profile typical of wines from the Sta. Rita Hills.
96+-94 POINTS JEB DUNNUCK, 93 POINTS PURELY DOMESTIC WINE REPORT
2020 Beau Marchais Clos Pepe Vineyard Est Pinot Noir
Santa Rita Hills, Santa Barbara County
96-94 POINTS JEB DUNNUCK
“The 2020 Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Est Vineyard saw 25% stems, 48 days on stems, and aging all in new barrels. Lots of mulberry, chocolate covered strawberries, and plum fruits as well as notes of orange blossom and spice emerge from the glass, and it’s a rich, full-bodied, textured beauty that packs one heck of a mid-palate. With ripe tannins and an expansive, supple texture, drink this hedonistic, sexy Pinot Noir on release and over the following 7-8 years.”
2020 Beau Marchais Clos Pepe Vineyard Ouest Pinot Noir
Santa Rita Hills, Santa Barbara County
97-95 POINTS
JEB DUNNUCK REVIEW: “The 2020 Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Ouest Vineyard comes from the western side of the vineyard, which sees slightly smaller berries and yields due to being hammered by the winds. It tends to be a riper Pinot Noir yet always seems more structured and focused than the Est Pinot Noir. Similarly deep purple-hued, with a beautiful bouquet of blue fruits, iron, candied orange zest, and spice, it’s another rich, full-bodied, concentrated Pinot Noir that stays beautifully balanced and has ripe, building tannins as well as a great finish. While it’s not for the Burgundy lovers out there (although you might be surprised), it has depth, structure, and is a brilliant Pinot Noir!”
2019 Beau Marchais Roderigue Hortalez Pinot Noir
Central Coast
The wine is the 2019 Beau Marchais Rodrigue Hortalez Central Coast Pinot Noir. It’s a blend of grapes from the Soberanes Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands and the Clos Pepe Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills. Produced using Philippe’s unique production methods, and aged in a combination of new and older French oak, the wine is a slightly less concentrated version of the other Beau Marchais Pinots. Phiippe and I produced this wine specifically for charity purposes as we believe that it is vital that we give back as we have been doubly blessed in our wine careers (in case you are wondering about the name, check out this link: ).
Second, the charity. The Mighty Oakes Heart Foundation is a charity that is near and dear to my heart. I first met Becky and Greg Ortyl almost a decade ago. At the time, they had recently given birth to a beautiful son named Oakes. Oakes was perfect except that he had a congenital heart defect which ended up cutting his life to a mere 15 months. Throughout it all, the Ortyls were amazing and, after Oakes passing, they founded the Mighty Oakes Heart Foundation to help families that find themselves in similar situations with a child. For the life of me, I don’t know how they managed to find the courage and strength to not only survive but also to overcome and help others, but they have done so for almost a decade now. You can read more about the Mighty Oakes Heart Foundation here:
2019 Beau Marchais Clos Pepe Vineyard Ouest Pinot Noir
Santa Rita Hills, Santa Barbara County
Philippe’s Tasting Notes: We discover a deep blood red dress with reflections of Indian ink and a nice shine. The nose is very nicely complex, we discover aromas of cherry jam and blueberry combined with white pepper. The palate is intense, suave with a beautiful tannic structure where we discover aromas of red fruits combined with cocoa and tonca beans. The wine is very mineral very deep, a superb length where the spicy aromas of black tobacco and cloves persist.
Pair with: Provençal beef stew, caramelized pork ribs, lamb hamburger.
2019 Beau Marchais Clos Pepe Vineyard Est Pinot Noir
Santa Rita Hills, Santa Barbara County
Philippe’s Tasting Notes: This wine presents a very pretty red burlap cherry dress with pretty violin reflections. We discover a very elegant nose on aromas of strawberries and crushed rhubarb pie associated with sweet spices, curries and cumin. The mouth is very creamy, full of sweetness where we discover aromas of red fruit sabayon combined with cherry liquorice and liquorice liquorice. Very nice length is very nice minerality.
Pair with: rib of beef grilled with wild herbs, duck breast with red fruits, roast chicken.
2019 Beau Marchais Soberanes Vineyard Pinot Noir
Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey County
Philippe’s Tasting Notes: This wine has a Pyrenean cherry color with brilliant velvet tents. The nose is very elegant or we discover notes of bitter orange marmalade combined with wild blackberry jelly. It develops a pretty unctuous mouth where we discover aromas of fresh black plum figs combined with chocolate and coffee beans. The aromas are supported by a spice weft where we find notes of cumin oregano thyme and it also has great complexity a great length, a wine cut by aging.
Pair with: roast beef, steak of kobe beef, turkey stuffed with chestnut, tuna steak in soy sauce.