I meant to grab a 2011 but accidently grabbed this one instead.
Full disclosure: I am very fond of Eric (the winemaker) as a person so that in theory could sway my opinion, but I’d like to think I am judging this wine objectively.
2013 Ladd Cellars Pinot Noir Cuvée Abigail - Slow oxed for about 90 minutes and then dumped into a decanter right before dinner. Served with prime tri-tip, roasted root vegetables and homemade mozzarella stuffed whole grain bread. This has classic Chambolle-like pinot aromas of violets and other floral things along with cinnamon spice. A vibrant spine of acidity adds lift and freshness to sappy red cherry and violet floral flavors. Its very elegant with middleweight power. A nice floral and cinnamon finish lingers for a bit after each sip. Delicious. My wife (who usually only likes drinking Burgundy and Jura reds) and my mother in law (who is the farthest thing from a wine geek) also enjoyed it greatly. This should improve considerably with bottle age.
I really liked the 2013 Ladd Chardonnay, which was a BerserkerDay buy in 2015.
The virtual tasting next week is sponsored by Todd and the theme is berserkerday purchases.
More Ladd to be opened…
Thanks for the great note Berry! I’m really happy with how this turned out and is developing. A few details on the wine…picked at ~23 brix, a mix of more and less usual clones (Pommard, Swan, 2A, 115, 9 and 23) 1/2 of which are from own rooted vines. I’ve been decreasing the amt of new oak, and increasing the amt of whole cluster for a few years. New oak used to be ~30% and stems were ~5% (some variance here). This wine (and current typical practices) is 15% new oak and 25% whole cluster. I like the change.
A note about the 2011 Cuvee Abigail, and the 11 Nash Mill, is they’re both fairly closed atm. So I’d let them rest for a while before diving in.
Also, thanks for the 13 Chard thoughts Scott! From 40 year old vines between Sebastopol and Occidental. Really happy with this wine as well…esp since it’s my first Chard (and white). I love balanced style chards of all sorts, so I’ve been studying the subject and planning for a while. 2014 was picked earlier by a brix and great acid (3.15 final pH), so look out for that one as well.