Mount Eden Vineyards 'Estate' Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains, California 2021
One of California's most historically significant wine estates, Mount Eden Vineyards has been producing estate-bottled Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the same mountaintop site longer than any other producer in the state. The property traces its lineage to 1945, when the legendary Martin Ray planted the first vines using budwood descended from Paul Masson's original Burgundian selections. Perched at 2,000 feet above Silicon Valley, the estate has been under the stewardship of winemaker Jeffrey Patterson since 1981, with the Patterson family acquiring majority ownership in 2008. Mount Eden's approach to winemaking has never wavered: wines of exceptional balance, restraint, and age-worthiness, grown from an uncompromising site that demands patience from both vines and vintner.
- WINEMAKER: Jeffrey Patterson
- FARMING: Sustainable; dry-farmed, no irrigation
- VARIETY: 100% Pinot Noir
- TERROIR: The estate's 40-acre mountaintop vineyard is planted in austere, infertile Franciscan shale at 2,000 feet elevation in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, approximately 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean. The cool, exposed site sits above the fog line, producing wines of exceptional concentration and tension from naturally low-yielding vines. Rainfall in 2021 totaled just 12.7 inches — a record-setting drought year — with harvest commencing August 19th at a yield of 2.5 tons per acre.
- VINIFICATION: Hand-harvested August 19–31, 2021. Fermented with 30% whole clusters using native yeasts.
- AGING: Aged 11 months in 100% French oak (new and one-year-old barrels). Bottled August 2022 with no fining or filtration. 13.5% abv.
- TASTING NOTES: Deep ruby with aromas of raspberry, sandalwood, and brown spices. Multilayered on the palate with bright soft red fruit and a touch of anise. Precise acid-tannin balance with a long finish. Expected to develop further over 6–7 years.
- FOOD PAIRINGS: Duck confit, mushroom risotto, roasted lamb, aged Comté.
- SCORES: 94 pts Wine Advocate (April 2024) 94 pts Wine Enthusiast, Cellar Selection (December 2024)
Mount Eden Vineyards 'Estate' Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains, California 2021
One of California's most historically significant wine estates, Mount Eden Vineyards has been producing estate-bottled Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the same mountaintop site longer than any other producer in the state. The property traces its lineage to 1945, when the legendary Martin Ray planted the first vines using budwood descended from Paul Masson's original Burgundian selections. Perched at 2,000 feet above Silicon Valley, the estate has been under the stewardship of winemaker Jeffrey Patterson since 1981, with the Patterson family acquiring majority ownership in 2008. Mount Eden's approach to winemaking has never wavered: wines of exceptional balance, restraint, and age-worthiness, grown from an uncompromising site that demands patience from both vines and vintner.
- WINEMAKER: Jeffrey Patterson
- FARMING: Sustainable; dry-farmed, no irrigation
- VARIETY: 100% Pinot Noir
- TERROIR: The estate's 40-acre mountaintop vineyard is planted in austere, infertile Franciscan shale at 2,000 feet elevation in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, approximately 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean. The cool, exposed site sits above the fog line, producing wines of exceptional concentration and tension from naturally low-yielding vines. Rainfall in 2021 totaled just 12.7 inches — a record-setting drought year — with harvest commencing August 19th at a yield of 2.5 tons per acre.
- VINIFICATION: Hand-harvested August 19–31, 2021. Fermented with 30% whole clusters using native yeasts.
- AGING: Aged 11 months in 100% French oak (new and one-year-old barrels). Bottled August 2022 with no fining or filtration. 13.5% abv.
- TASTING NOTES: Deep ruby with aromas of raspberry, sandalwood, and brown spices. Multilayered on the palate with bright soft red fruit and a touch of anise. Precise acid-tannin balance with a long finish. Expected to develop further over 6–7 years.
- FOOD PAIRINGS: Duck confit, mushroom risotto, roasted lamb, aged Comté.
- SCORES: 94 pts Wine Advocate (April 2024) 94 pts Wine Enthusiast, Cellar Selection (December 2024)