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Wine Recommendation
Lane Tanner Winery
2004 Pinot Noir, Bien Nacido Vineyards(Santa Maria Valley)
Lane Tanner has been talkin’ the talk and walkin’ the walk since Andre Tchelistcheff tapped her on the shoulder years ago and told her that he thought she had talent. Talk about being anointed!
Lane has had her ups and downs working for other folks in the wine biz, but she’s most happy and content to be at the helm of her own eponymous label. One of her endearing quirks is that she anthropomorphizes each bottling. For example, she calls her Julia’s Vineyard Pinot the “haunting other woman.” While the Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot is all “boyish charm.” And indeed it is.
Ripe aromatics of cherry and plum seem seductive, while the flavors speak to the strawberry and cherry end of the fruit spectrum. Harvested at the end of August (Lane tends to be the first to pick the vineyard), the wine has an incredible lightness of being. Restrained and mellow, it’s already approachable with its soft and velvety mouth feel. At 12.8% alcohol, this is no residual sugar style “aperitif/cocktail hour” libation; this Pinot really cries out for food.
Purchase this wine as part of the Bien Nacido Vineyards Collector’s Case, a unique offering of 12 vineyard designated wines from 12 different winemakers.
Reviewed April 3, 2007 by Dennis Schaefer.
Other reviewed wines from Lane Tanner Winery
The Wine
Winery: Lane Tanner Winery |
The Reviewer
Dennis Schaefer
Dennis Schaefer has been tasting and writing about wine for over 30 years, propelled by a continuing curiosity and burgeoning enthusiasm for discovering what’s in the bottle. Blessed with catholic tastes, he enjoys everything from the obvious to the sublime. A major requirement is that the vineyard, winery and winemaker consistently perform well and fulfill their potential. Balance, concentration and complexity are key to the tasting experience but, in the end, the purpose of wine is simply to give pleasure. |