Lemelson Pinot Noir Thea's Selection 2012
This wine is from the Willamette Valley AVA in Oregon, an area which is best known for producing Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. The Willamette Valley is a coastal region and has the longest hours of daylight in Oregon. Because of the high sun exposure, the grapes grown here are able to reach high levels of sugar ripeness, which will translate to a fuller, richer wine. The Pacific Ocean cools the area during the warm summer days and the nights are cool, both of which extend the growing season and allow the grapes to fully develop their flavors and aromas and also retain their acidity. The resulting wines should be rich with intense, complex flavors and a nice acidic backbone.
This is one of my very favorite Pinot Noir and a year and a half ago, I chose this as the first wine that I would enjoy post pregnancy. I almost cried with the first sip. It’s that good. Or it could have just been the hormones. Anyhow, it’s been a while since I've had a Lemelson Pinot Noir, so I dug this bottle out of my “cellar” (which is actually a fancy pants wine fridge). It has a really lovely and complex nose with notes of raspberry, red cherry, dried strawberry, cinnamon, and an earthy, forest floor-y note. The palate delivered similar qualities of the same red fruits, sweet baking spices, and dried leaves. Yes, I know what dried leaves taste like. I was an adventurous kid! For those of you that have not indulged in such a delicacy - they taste like they smell....autumnal or earthy, I suppose you could say. The wine had firm tannins, a nice acidity, a supple texture, and it was well balanced. It’s a super enjoyable wine! I’ve had this bottle for a while, so I don’t have a specific price point for you. However, a simple online search showed me that it retails between $24 and $30. It’s a bit expensive, but totally worth the price.
This is what my Friday nights look like. I’m so wild I can hardly stand it.
The book pictured here is my current mommy read. It’s called No-Drama Discipline and is incredibly insightful. It’s all about mindful parenting and it offers a brilliant approach to discipline and guidance sans spanking. I think spanking is a reactionary and thoughtless quick "fix" with zero long term benefits (plus there are a great number of studies that show how psychologically damaging it is). The methods have already worked wonders with the bubs. So far, tantrums stop dead in their tracks and I feel like a toddler whisperer. It gets the Sommomlier stamp of approval! I told you this blog would have the occasional parenting anecdote :)
Drink this wine and buy this book!
Lemelson Pinot Noir Thea's Selection 2012: BIG Thumbs Up!
