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2017 Domaine de la Côte Pinot Noir Sous le chêne - USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills (11/6/2022)
It is hard to believe this wine sells for as much as it does. Good wine but not great. Mushrooms, earth, mild spice, floral and light fruits. Short to medium finish. If this was $35 cool but it is not. (91 points)
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So did its reputation or price lead you to believe it was gonna be something different? Or were you able to evaluate it based on exactly what it was?
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Larry when I review a wine price, people behind it, etc. don’t come into play. This is not a very good wine and evident in my review. The person who I drank it with thought the same and they are not into wine reviewing.
I still haven’t made up my mind as to what I think of these wines. They are interesting to me, but not so pleasurable. It’s more than a little work to try to understand them.
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Mainly understanding the price of these wines? I was expecting something special and that did not happen.
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Lots of stems, high acid and picked at lower sugars. Not sure 5 years is going to be the drinking window on a Domaine de la Cote Pinot Noir.
I’ve tasted these on the younger side and they were thought they were reductive and stemmy. I don’t have a strong opinion about them either way, but if I had any I’d bet on them much further down the road.
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My $.02 (and you get what you pay for) is that 2017 was a very difficult year for this type of wine. There were more days over 90 degrees than in 2018 and 2019 combined. This leads to fast sugar accumulation. Stem ripeness occurs, again IMHO, largely based on time on the vine. Here you had a wine that, if picked less sugar ripe, had less hang time and less ripe stems. I am not certain that I have had this particular 2017 DdlC but I have found the 2018s and 2019s to be more successful.
Adam Lee
Clarice Wine Company
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I wonder how much the view on this wine would change if tasted blind and told it comes from Burgundy… I imagine it would be a more positive view of “needs time to integrate and gain weight” vs. “good not great”
Note: this is not meant to be a critique of the OP. Rather an observation on how people talk about wines when they’ve seen the label, especially Burgundy
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For those of you (like me) wondering about the price, it seems they run upwards of $190. 
But you gave it 91 points? 
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In Pursuit of >KA-CHING!<
I haven’t tried that cuvee or vintage from DDLC, but of the wines I’ve had, I enjoyed them very much. I am actually hosting a DDLC blind tasting comparing them to Burgs on 1/13. I got the idea from the Somm 3 doc because several advanced and master somms said they thought it was extremely Burgundian. So I thought, let’s put that claim to the test! I’ll be sure to post the tasting notes after the dinner.
Here’s the link if you want to check it out. All seats are currently taken, but the wait list is open and we are having a BYO afterparty around 9-9:30 if you want to check it out. There may be some left over DDLC wines from many different cuvees and vintages laying around if you want to give them a try during the afterparty.
CT average price and historical auction prices are in the $100-120 range. Still a “premium” price point, sure. If you look at it through the lens of today’s burgundy pricing, it’s probably appropriate or even a bit underpriced.
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Look forward to the results of the tasting. Did not get the Burg feel of this wine and it is their top wines for sure. Hoping the person who opened this wine will do a blind tasting this Saturday with domestic Pinots as they have another 20 plus to open.
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I have had more than a few DdlC wines over the years, and also do not get it. The structure is all wrong.
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Is that the paid version of W-S? This is what I get on the free version:
Obviously, the price is only “appropriate or underpriced” if you think the wine is comparable to/substitutable for Burgundy.
Yes the mark up on the wine from original price is in that range. Give me 3 great Oregon Pinots please at that price.
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Had a 2020 Bloom’s Field that was fantastic and well worth the $100 paid—I then picked up three more.
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When I posted it, I had looked and I’m pretty sure I saw it at $120 - and yes I have WSpro. It’s not there anymore though. Until about a year ago, I think they were easier to find. Now they get snapped up pretty quickly in the $100-120 range, but not so fast you can’t get them.
In CT, you can see some auction history without any kind of subscription.
Whether or not you think it’s a burgundy substitute is debatable. I think of DDLC wines the same way I think of 1er cru burgs from pretty good producers (not the culty ones), but that’s just me and I’m not about to try to justify that thinking… it’s just how I feel about DDLC’s PNs based on the couple times I’ve drank them. I have quite a few in the cellar. Maybe it’s time to open one and check in… maybe my view will change
I have had 3 different cuvees, from a few vintages. Bloomsfield, DDLC Estate Pinot, and La Cote.
In Somm 3, Jancis declared that Raj succeeded in creating Burgundy in Cali. Who knows if she was just being polite for the camera, but it was quite the declaration to make, which is why I think it will make for a fun blind tasting in January.
I have tried the Bloomsfield (the one featured in Somm 3) 2018 and 2020 vintages. I think the 2018 was slightly Burgundian, but I also felt the wine was too tight even after a 5 hour decant. Of all the DDLC wines I’ve had, I can tell they can definitely age, so I look forward to tasting them.
The vintage Jancis in the doc said was successful at creating “Burgundy in Cali” was the 2014 vintage.
Sirens Call I believe is their most expensive wine, with some vintages priced over $200. We are trying the 2014 vintage at the DDLC tasting.
I’ll definitely post notes. Dustin Wilson, MS from the Somm movies, and a representative from DDLC will be in attendance, so I really am looking forward to this event.