2013 Presqu’ile Pinot Noir

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$44 (retail) Wine Club pricing reflected in receipt

Here’s a first-time selection from this Santa Maria winery owned by the Murphy family. . .heirs to an oil fortune in Louisiana, Murphy Oil Company.  When the historic family home was wiped out during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, young Matt Murphy—with a longtime interest in wine—sought out property in California to make pinot noir with winemaker-friend, Dieter Cronje, a native of South Africa.  The search ended in Santa Maria where the family purchased 200 acres and began planting pinot noir.  Today, there are 73 acres in vines.

Their first vintage was in 2008 and a tasting room was opened in Los Olivos in 2013.  In addition to pinot, Presqu”ile (which translates roughly to “almost an island,” the name of the family estate in Louisiana) also makes chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, syrah and rosé of pinot.

One of the wine world’s most respected bloggers, Alder Yarrow of Vinography, was absolutely blown away with the first vintage he tasted in 2011, calling Presqu’ile “The most exciting new winery.”  When you taste this stuff, you’ll be searching for superlatives, too.

Winery Tasting Notes:  “Our 2013 Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir offers what we consider the hallmarks of our AVA: balance, complexity and the ever-present “Santa Maria spice”.  It is this spice-driven character that we prize so deeply and which made us fall in love with this region.”

Blend:  100% pinot noir

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