2007 Greg Norman Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir
Are there any products where celebrities haven’t stamped their name? I remember when I heard there would be Martha Stewart and Paul Newman label wines, I was sad. It is one thing to be a celebrity and own a vineyard, but these were marketing labels, not real people getting involved with real wine.
From what I can tell, Mr. Norman is a true oenophile and is involved beyond just slapping his name and shark logo on the bottles. His wines have garnered some accolades amongst the press, this one included. I’d actually never tried any of the wines before, having rarely seen them. This one was spotted and with the 2007 California Pinot Noir cover on the current issue of Wine Spectator fresh on my mind, I snapped it up.
Price:$15.99
Bought at: Whole Foods in Duluth
Origin: Santa Barbara County, California, USA
Aromatics: I got a lot of cherry, with some nice underlying minerally tones. It smelled juicy, but not overly ripe. I also put down purple flowers and no, I don’t know what that means either, it was just what I wrote.
It tasted of: When I was drinking it, I got a lot more plum and black cherry, with a hint of sassafras in the finish. It had good acidity, medium body to the mouth feel and was very easy to drink. The 13.5% alcohol was a welcome sight, with so many Pinots weighing in a full point higher and being a bit exhausting in the second glass finale. This was served with seared tuna steaks, accompanied by a home made guacamole and teriyaki & sesame oil dipping sauce. It was not decanted and was served straight out of the wine fridge, which is about perfect for my tastes. Sadly, I don’t know exactly what that temperature would be since the fridge is analog.
Pair with: I’d say anything really, though I’d stick to the usual suspects of fresh tuna and salmon. A cherry glazed pork chop would also work well.
Final word: An above average wine, with a great price point. If I were a beverage director at any golf club, I’d be snapping up cases and cases of this stuff to put on my wine list and yes, I’d even have the chef create a shark dish to feature it with.
Ha! “Purple Flowers”….I always write down “violets” with lots of Syrahs…not even sure what a violet smells like. I guess I’ve read too many tasting notes describing Syrah as “violet-y”
Ah, tuna and guacamole…madness!
At a local Chinese restaurant we went to for dinner and to watch the Angels lose to the Yankees, the wines by the glass list was pathetic adn this was the only wine by the bottle that looked interesting for under $100.
Yes, it was a really sad wine list and a really sad game for Angels fans. What was even more sad for me was that no one in the restaurant had a key to the display case which showed a few oddball but interesting wines like full bottles of Justin Obtuse for $45…
I chose the Norman to pair with my mu shoo pork and thought it a good match at $25. I don’t know about purple flowers. I’ve had the bottle open for a few hours now and getting some interesting funk.
Would I seek it out? No. Unless I was hosting some gold geeks, I guess.
BTW, I may write about it on my wine blog, Wine Predator and will link back to your thougthful assessment.
[...] good match for the mu shoo pork and a decent enough value at $27 when the winery retails it at $15. One reviewer said he got purple flowers. I don’t know about purple flowers. I’ve had the bottle open for a few hours now and [...]