Laetitia Estate Pinot Noir Arroyo Grande Valley 2007

Last fall, Ms Cocktail and I were able to make it out to California and check out some of the wineries in the Paso Robles/San Luis Obispo area of California. One of the wineries we were able to visit while we were there was Laetitia Vineyard and Winery. They have several excellent Pinot Noir wines available there and we, of course, had many samples sent back to us in Virginia. Once we got back here, we were excited to find on of their Pinot Noirs available in our local wine shops. It was not one of the ones that we tasted while were out there so we were very interested in seeing what this wine offered.

At this point I think I will detour from the narrative and take a moment to talk about Brettanomyces. Brettanomyces is a wild yeast that is naturally occurring and lives on the skins of fruit. Some wine people believe that the presence of Brettanomyces in small concentrations can give pleasant characteristics to a wine's palate or bouquet. However, in stronger concentrations it can become unpleasant, often smelling like bandaids or hair permanent solution. The biggest problem is that each individuals sensitivity to Brettanomyces is quite different. Therefore, the presence of Brettanomyces is seen as a fault in the wine.

Now, back to the wine. When I opened the bottle it was immediately apparent to me that Brettanomyces was present in this wine. Previous to my taking this WSET course, I would not have know it for what it is and perhaps enjoyed this wine. However, there is a saying that once expanded by a new idea, a person's mind can never return to its previous shape and this is definitely the case for me with Brettanomyces. So I found this wine lacking because of this fault. Here's my tasting notes on this wine.

A clear, ruby colored wine of medium(-) intensity withe legs. It has an unclean developing nose of Brettanomyces over red apple and red currant. It is a dry wine of medium acidity, medium tannins, medium alcohol and medium(-) body. It has flavors of red apple, red currant and cinnamon with a medium finish. This is an acceptable, mid-priced wine that is ready to drink now but will not improve.