Wine Last Sold on: January 8, 2013
Horse & Plow
Featured Wine:
2011 The Gardener Pinot Noir
| Varietal: | Pinot Noir |
| Region: | California: Carneros - Los Carneros (Napa) |
| Avg. Price: | $35.00 |
| Wine Spies: | $25.99 |
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SUPERIOR WINE ALERT:
We only showcase wines that we love. While our emphasis is on quality first, every now and again we come across a real standout wine that rises above. When we do, we issue alerts like this one.
SUPER QPR ALERT:
At today’s special Wine Spies price, this wine delivers tremendous value - and a drinking experience that exceeds expectations, easily earning it this special QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Alert.
Mission Codename: Eden's Pinot
- Operative
- Agent Red
- Objective
- Respond to Intel on Horse & Plow’s exciting The Gardner Pinot Noir. Sample the wine and secure an ample allocation if this Pinot meets or exceeds our stringent expectations
- Mission Status
- Accomplished!
- Winemakers
- Chris Condos and Suzanne Hagins
Final Assessment
Today’s wine is a truly delightful find!
We our very proud to present to you, today, the 2011 The Gardner Pinot Noir, from Horse & Plow. This wonderful Pinot is a highly recommended gem of a wine.
Youthful, delicious and well-balanced, this wine is ready to enjoy now - but will continue to evolve and improve. This flavorful Pinot springs to life with some decanting or hearty swirling, gradually revealing more fruit flavor and more complexity.
Pair this exciting, food-flexible wine with roast pork in a cherry reduction, grilled salmon, eggplant casserole or an almond tart.
Tasting Profile
Deep ruby with glinting pale purple edging. Skinny, spindly legs start high on the glass wall before moving swiftly downward.
Aromas of baked plum, black cherry, cola, Morrell mushroom, and forest floor fill the glass. As the wine opens up, it unveils sandalwood, ripe raspberry, muted rhubarb pie with butter, brown sugar and subtle clove.
Youthful and a little shy, at first. With some good swirling or decanting, it opens to reveal black cherry, dark spice, clove-pierced orange, baked plum, subtle ginger. The body of the wine is fleshy and chewy with a bright dryness that starts at the tip of the tongue before spreading rearward.
An integrated and soft tannin finish. As fruits fade it gives way to spice and rose hips. After primary flavors fade, forest floor persists even longer.
What the Winery Says
This Pinot Noir was made in the traditional way; the grapes were sorted, 20% whole clusters were selected and the remainder destemmed into small open-top tanks. We cold soak the grapes for 7 days before letting the grapes begin their fermentation with its native yeasts. All tanks are punched down by hand throughout fermentation and then gently drained & pressed. It was aged in French oak barrels for ten months and was not fined or filtered. The wine is bright garnet in color with a dark nose of earth and plum. Soft tannin and acidity are balanced with complex notes of baking spice, dark fruit and game.
Technical Analysis
Varietal Composition: 100% Pinot Noir
Appellation: Carneros
Grower: Robert Sinskey Vineyard
Winemakers: Chris Condos & Suzanne Hagins
Barrels: 100% French Oak Barrels (25% New)
Alcohol: 13.7%
TA: 6.2g/L
pH: 3.52
Production: 200 Cases
About the Winery
Horse & Plow is owned by husband and wife team, Chris Condos and Suzanne Hagins. After many years in the wine industry, they learned the benefits of organic viticulture and natural winemaking. Organic vineyards produce wines that are more expressive of where they were grown. No unsustainable synthetic pesticides or fertilizers are used in the vineyard, which can be a danger to the environment and vineyard workers. Our wines are made naturally with no synthetic nutrients or additives, no GMO’s, are vegan and contain low sulfites.
Chris began his career at Pine Ridge Winery after attending UC Davis. He started Vinum Cellars in Oakville in 1997, which currently produces 25,000 cases of wine annually. He has also been the consulting winemaker for Kathryn Kennedy Winery since 1998. Suzanne started her winemaking career in 1998 at Comte Armand in Pommard, with California experience at David Bruce and Goldeneye wineries. She is also the owner and winemaker for Lutea which produces organically grown pinot noir.
Chris and Suzanne started Horse & Plow in 2008 making only 600 cases of wine and are currently making 2500 cases. They recently welcomed a son, Dean, and hope to build Horse & Plow into an inspiring future for him.
