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Fans of Pinot Noir from California’s Central Coast will love this new offering from Joel Gott. It’s a bright, fresh, and elegant wine with a price much lower than its quality suggests. The fruit is sourced from vineyards in Monterey and Santa Barbara, AVAs with ideal growing conditions for a style of Pinot Noir that balances rich fruit flavors with bright notes, and refreshing acidity. Following a dry winter, the 2021 growing season saw mainly mild temperatures that produced smaller, more concentrated fruit clusters with excellent flavor and acidity. The wine garnered 90 points from James Suckling, who noted a “pretty nose of potpourri, dried roses, cherries, strawberries, and licorice. Medium-bodied, fruity, and bright, with tight-knit tannins and crunchy red berry fruit to close.”
Joel Gott Wines is based in the Napa Valley but produces Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and other wines from select vineyards throughout California, Oregon and Washington. The philosophy behind the operation is to blend grapes from a wide range of sources in order to provide complex, balanced and flavorful wines at affordable prices.
Growing up in a family that had been in the Napa Valley wine business for several generations, it was natural that Joel Gott would eventually enter the local trade. But he didn’t follow the usual route by, say, attending UC Davis or by inheriting the family business. While in his twenties, Gott and his brother operated the Palisades Food Market in Calistoga, which they turned into a successful purveyor of prepared gourmet foods. During this time Gott noticed growing demand for quality wines with a low price point. In 1996 Joel Gott and his winemaker girlfriend (soon wife) made an Amador County Zinfandel that received rave reviews. Energized by success, they went on to produce California appellation Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. From the start, they realized they could produce more interesting wines by blending grapes from a variety of sources and appellations instead of trying to make single vineyard wines. Rather than build an expensive winery or purchase a vineyard, they have focused on maintaining excellent relations with growers, purchasing grapes at low prices and using custom crush facilities in order to keep the prices of their wines as low as possible.
Today the wines in Gott’s portfolio include California Zinfandel, California 815 Cabernet, California Sauvignon Blanc, Monterey Chardonnay, and Washington Riesling. In 2005 the 815 California Cabernet Sauvignon won a Food & Wine American Wine Award, and in 2007, the California Zinfandel did as well. As the owner of the popular gourmet hamburger stand, Gott’s Roadside, as well as a partner in Three Thieves Wine, Joel Gott is making his mark as a younger generation Napa Valley entrepreneur. At the same time, Joel Gott Wines continues to grow and receive accolades for delivering a great product at a value price point.
| Country | USA |
| Region | California |
| Appellation(s) | California |
| Winery | Joel Gott |
| Vintage | 2021 |
| Color | Red |
| Varietal(s) | Pinot Noir |
| Closure | Cork |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Bottle Size | 8.0 x 30.0 |
| Case Size | 34.5 x 26.0 x 30.5 |
| Alcohol | 13.9% |
| Product Code | JG21CP |
| UPC | 817625010143 |
Aromas of cherries, raspberries, plum, and pomegranate with notes of toasted oak and spice. On the palate, flavors of bright red fruit and candied cherries are followed by soft, velvety tannins on the mid-palate and a long, elegant finish.
Much of the fruit was fermented in open-top fermenters which help retain fruit flavor and tannin structure. The wine aged in 50% stainless steel, 20% new French oak, and 30% 1-3-year-old French oak.