BEST Wine Under $20 – 2015 California Pinot Noir Review [Prophecy]

We continue our best wine under $20 series with another wine from Prophecy. This time it’s a Pinot Noir, and boy is it good for the price.

Purchase it HERE.

Winemaker Notes:
Prophecy Pinot Noir showcases the best of California. Upon the first swirl, this Pinot Noir delights the senses with a bouquet of toasted oak and ripe raspberry. Plush and smooth, the mouthfeel is round and filled with luscious layers of red cherry and strawberry that are complemented by notes of brown spice.

Prophecy Wines are inspired by the bounty of harvest and the possibility of greatness in a glass. Crafted to showcase each grape variety’s defining characteristics, the wines of Prophecy come from premier growing regions around the world. Each wine unearths a shared journey of discovery. Join us in our passion of discovering and sharing great wines.

One of the most finicky yet rewarding grapes to grow, Pinot Noir is a labor of love for many. However, the greatest red wines of Burgundy prove that it is unquestionably worth the effort. In fact, it is the only red variety permitted in Burgundy. Highly reflective of its terroir, Pinot Noir prefers calcareous soils and a cool climate, requires low yields to achieve high quality and demands a lot of attention in the vineyard and winery. It retains even more glory as an important component of Champagne as well as on its own in France’s Loire Valley and Alsace regions. This sensational grape enjoys immense international success, most notably growing in Oregon, California and New Zealand with smaller amounts in Chile, Germany (as Spätburgunder) and Italy (as Pinot Nero).

In the Glass:
Pinot Noir is all about red fruit—strawberry, raspberry and cherry with some heftier styles delving into the red or purple plum and in the other direction, red or orange citrus. It is relatively pale in color with soft tannins and a lively acidity. With age (of which the best examples can handle an astounding amount) it can develop hauntingly alluring characteristics of fresh earth, savory spice, dried fruit and truffles.

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