Log in / Sign up Domaine de la Côte 'La Côte' Pinot Noir 2020
Domaine de la Côte has, in a very brief period, established itself as one of California’s top proponents of Pinot Noir. The estate comprises of six vineyards on the western edge of the Santa Rita Hills, each with a unique geology, aspect, elevation, and microclimate. The ultimate exercise in terroir. The Domaine farms its vineyards organically and makes its wines with the philosophy of ‘add nothing; take nothing away.’ The wines, which really are quite special, embody the philosophy of owners Sashi Moorman and Rajat Parr: freshness, vitality, and balance
La Côte blankets a steep southeast-facing hillside on the leeward slope of our Domaine. Unimpeded by the inexorable winds that confront Bloom’s Field and Memorious to the west, La Côte enjoys more optimal pollination and less shatter. The vineyard possesses the most heterogeneous soils of our estate: its bedrock varies from Monterey Shale to Diatomaceous Earth to alluvium, and the associated soils range from shallow and rocky—with a plethora of broken stones—to rich and homogenous downslope.
Duck Confit, Truffled Mushrooms, Roast Chicken.
Refined, lifted, etched—such words come to mind upon the first sniff of the 2020 La Côte, a vineyard that tends to make highly expressive wines that require time to find their voice. This vintage, however, the wine finds its expression even in a youthful stage, with gorgeous, pure, high-toned fruit shining with ripeness and generosity, but also traditional definition and precision.
Already, a bouquet of spice and deeper, darker, pithier fruit emerges from the wine’s deepest coils, where its ultra-fine tannins seamlessly weave together in a fine, almost glossy texture and a body that allows the flavours to linger pleasurably on the tongue long after the wine has been swallowed.
