You may often hear wines referred to as having a, “sense of place.“ But what does that mean? Is it a marketing buzz phrase or is there significance in it? When used properly, it is the latter.
When grapes are allowed to grow—and wines are then made—with minimal intervention, they are impacted by the soil, slope, aspect, warmth, sunshine, elevation, wind, etc. Each of these growing conditions (loosely referred to as the wine’s “terroir”) factors into the color, body, acid, tannins, aromas, flavors, alcohol, etc. in the wine. In the United States, for the most part, you can grow any grape varietal anywhere and make any wine you want. That doesn’t mean you should. Each grape varietal is unique and is typically suited to specific terroir.
If your favorite wine is Pinot Noir, for example, you should be mindful that it does not perform at its best in hot climates. But you can find plenty examples of hot-climate Pinot Noir grown in the United States. It’s a disservice to the grape, usually producing an inferior wine, one that is manipulated with additives to try to mimic a cooler climate. In Europe there are strict wine laws that regulate where this grape is permitted to be grown (e.g., Burgundy). These regulations are tied to the climatic factors of the region. By ensuring the best possible Pinot Noir, they preserve the reputation of the grape and the producer.
If you taste enough wine you will begin to recognize when it was grown in conditions suited to the variety and therefore has a sense of place.
With all of this in mind, we highlight a wine with a true sense of place: the 2019 Ten Acre by Bella Vineyards Cloak + Loam Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast, our January wine of the month and the #6 wine of on our Top 50 Wines of 2024. We tasted this wine on a November trip to the caves at Bella, located on the northern end of Dry Creek Valley. The flagship grape of this AVA is Zinfandel, which typically thrives in warm, sunny regions. Zinfandel prefers much warmer weather than Pinot Noir. So how can our wine of the month truly have a sense of place? Remember, the location of the winery and tasting room is not necessarily the location where the grapes were grown.
The Ten Acre Cloak + Loam is aptly named, combining fruits from different vineyards with these characteristics. Pinot Noir thrives when grown in cool, foggy morning conditions, and in California it grows best in volcanic and loam soils. The “Cloak” comes from the foggy Petaluma Gap’s Crown Vineyard. The “Loam” refers to the Gap’s well-draining, iron-rich loam soil with its volcanic rock and the sandy loam Goldridge soils of the Earl Stephens Vineyard in the Russian River Valley.
The result is a silky, supple, medium-bodied wine with great depth of flavor. Expect dark plum, violet, black tea, rose petals, and Tahitian vanilla. Medium plus acidity and low, ripe tannins provide structure and carry the wine to a long finish. The 14.7% ABV is well integrated in the wine and therefore plays much lower. This is what Pinot Noir from the Petaluma Gap and Russian River Valley should be. This is a wine with a sense of place.
As we have written many times, value doesn’t mean low price. It means performing above the price point. We would expect to pay much more for this wine than its $68 price tag.
For making a classic Pinot Noir with a true sense of place and delivering great value, the 2019 Ten Acre by Bella Vineyards Cloak + Loam Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast is our January wine of the month.
Learn more about Bella Vineyards and Wine Caves, purchase their wine, and follow them here:
https://www.bellawinery.com
@BellaWineCaves