" We don't sell the wine without touching the vine "
Belle Glos Las Alturas Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023
No longer available.
| Country: | United States |
| Regions: | California California (Central Coast) |
| Winery: | Belle Glos |
| Grape Type: | Pinot Noir |
| Organic: | Yes |
| Vintage: | 2023 |
| Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
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Belle Glos Las Alturas Vineyard Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
“Las Alturas” is Spanish for “the heights,” a fitting name for a vineyard sitting on one of the highest grape-growing benches in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, at up to 1,200 feet. Nestled between the Santa Lucia Mountains and the western side of the Salinas Valley, the site takes in early morning fog off Monterey Bay and gusty afternoon winds that moderate temperature and stretch out one of the longest growing seasons in California. Those winds also produce smaller berries with thicker skins, which is where the vineyard’s signature color and concentration come from. Pinot Noir clones were matched to individual slopes and soil types across the bench, and yields are kept deliberately low to preserve fruit intensity.
The result is the boldest and most structured wine in the Belle Glos lineup: robust, expressive and full-bodied, balanced by the firm acidity this cool coastal region is known for.
Belle Glos Balade Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Tasting Notes
he word "Balade", French for "Wandering," is a fitting term for Belle Glos' annual exploration of single-vineyard pinot noir tracts on the west coast. As such, each vintage is very limited.
This Pinot Noir opens with aromas of blackberry, cherry, and delicate floral notes mingling with hints of cedar and baking spice. On the palate, you’ll experience layers of dark plum, juicy black raspberry, and subtle undertones of cocoa and vanilla, all wrapped in a plush, silky texture. Soft tannins and a balanced acidity contribute to a smooth, lingering finish, making it a perfect match for grilled meats, roasted vegetables, or simply as a luxurious glass to enjoy on its own.
Review:
This appellation is an ideal place to produce this brand's bold style of Pinot Noir, as elegance persists with power. In this bottling, aromas of black plum, blackberry and mahogany lead into a rich, creamy palate layered in wild mint, pepper and dark fruit. A searing acidity leads into a candied vanilla finish.
-Wine Enthusiast 94 Points
Belle Glos 25th Anniversary Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
A one-time commemorative bottling from Joseph Wagner marking 25 years of Belle Glos, blending the three flagship coastal vineyards: 38% Las Alturas (Santa Lucia Highlands) for power and intensity, 32% Clark & Telephone (Santa Maria Valley) for spice-driven elegance from rare self-rooted Martini clones, and 30% Dairyman (Russian River Valley) for silky brightness off the Pacific.
Cherries, cranberries and raspberries on the nose with baking spice and a hint of nutmeg. A big, juicy wave of red and blue fruit on the attack, energetic yet restrained, carried by remarkably silky, graceful tannins into a long, seductive finish. Dark cherries soaked in chocolate, sweet tobacco, molasses and hibiscus fill out a suede-like mouthfeel.
96 Points, The Tasting Panel
Belle Glos Clark and Telephone Vineyard Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
The Clark & Telephone Vineyard was established in 1972 and planted with “own root” Martini clone vines. Located just 13 miles from the ocean and situated on a west-facing slope, this vineyard experiences weather patterns that pull from west to east to bring cool fog and coastal breezes inland until August when Santa Ana winds begin.
We harvested early in the morning so the fruit would arrive at the winery while the grapes were still cool to preserve their vineyard-fresh flavors. After destemming (but not crushing) the berries, we cold-soaked the must for 14 days to soften the skins and allow for ideal extraction. During fermentation in a combination of closed and open-top stainless steel fermenters, we used both punch-down and pump-over techniques to extract color and phenolics. We aged the wine in 100% French oak (60% new) for up to 12 months. After the wine underwent malolactic fermentation, we racked it twice before bottling.
Deep ruby red in color with lush aromas of ripe cherry, nutmeg, dark chocolate and holiday baking spices. Bold and complex flavors of black plum, crushed raspberry and blueberry pie linger on the palate. The texture is rich and lively, and leads into a warm and structured finish.
Belle Glos' first wine under the newly minted West Sonoma Coast AVA and a cellared release, this majestic vineyard brings plum with a slight burnt edge in the glass and boasts aromas of freshly tilled land, a rich oak forest in Autumn, and Crème de Cassis. Once on the palate, the acidity sparks a fire of smoked caramel and cinnamon spiked cranberry sauce. The silky-smooth texture gives way to a long and balanced finish that leaves your senses wanting more.
Review:
Located in the westernmost section of Sonoma County, this rugged, elevated, marine-influenced sub-AVA is the newest in the region. This almost nine-year-old wine immediately delivers a memorable experience through its perfume of jasmine, gardenia, and tangelo; on the palate, notes of brown-sugared cherry join a parade of orange peel and crushed stone. Grainy yet juicy strawberry weaves into vanilla and cedar as white pepper keeps the palate primed for more flavor.
-Tasting Panel 97 Points
Dark plum in color with abundant aromas of dark chocolate, black cherry, and sun-ripened blackberry with a hint of cedar. Layered flavors of blackberry and raspberry pie filling, accompanied by notes of cinnamon, chocolate, and nutmeg play on the palate. Smooth and focused with refined tannins and a medium finish.
Product Description
Belle Glos Clark and Telephone Vineyard Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Deep ruby red in color with scarlet highlights, Clark & Telephone opens with bountiful aromas of red fruits of cranberry and raspberry jam, laced with clove, cedar, and holiday baking spices. Bold and complex flavors of crushed ripe cherry, cranberry and blueberry pie linger on the palate. The texture is rich and lively, and leads into a warm and structured finish.
Review:
A dark shade in the glass, this bottling offers intense aromas of black cherry, cola, rosewater and caramelized oak on the nose. The palate is rich and powerful, pairing smoky oak with black cherry flavors to create a lavish sip.
-Wine Enthusiast 93 Points
Winery: Belle Glos
Belle Glos showcases distinctive Pinot Noirs produced from California’s most noteworthy coastal wine-growing regions.
While each vineyard location lies near the Pacific Ocean, the climate differences are significant, varying with the amount of fog, wind, sunlight, and soil type at each site. Each Vineyard Designate is crafted to distill the purest essence of the locale into elegant expressions of California Pinot Noir.
Owner/winemaker, Joe Wagner chose the name Belle Glos (pronounced “BELL GLOSS”) to honor his grandmother, Lorna Belle Glos Wagner. Lorna was a co-founder of Caymus Vineyards, an inspirational figure to Joseph and an avid lover of Pinot Noir.
JOE WAGNER OWNER/WINEMAKER As a fifth generation Napa Valley winemaker, Joe learned his way around a vineyard long before he was able to drink wine. By the time he was 19 he knew that he would continue his family’s winemaking legacy, working alongside his father at Caymus Vineyards. In 2001, he created Belle Glos, with a focus on vineyard-designated Pinot Noirs from throughout California’s best coastal regions. More recently, he has launched a number of new brands under Copper Cane Wines & Provisions. Joe has a keen interest in contributing to the evolution of the wine industry, by discovering new wine growing locations and through experimentation in the cellar. Joe lives in Napa Valley, has six children, and maintains a healthy balance between his family life and a passionate dedication to his business.
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Review:
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Holocene Memorialis Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
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Our first vintage was 2015, and was released in early 2017. As production is currently extremely small, the best way to get the wines into your hands is to join our mailing list at the “Mailing List” link above to receive an allocation when we have a release. We release wines once per year, and they will be sold on a first come, first served basis, shipped straight to your door.
Review:
Gorgeous dark violets and forest floor, with bright hints of pine sap and lilacs. The Memorialis Pinot Noir comes from a west-facing site planted in the mid-1990s in the Yamhill-Carlton appellation, where the marine sedimentary soils build spice and savoury complexity. On the palate, umami character rises with mushrooms, earth and smoky soy. Deep and intense and built to go the distance.
-Decanter World Wine Awards 96 Points
The 2023 Pinot Noir Memorialis is perfumed and strikingly pretty. A cascade of exotic florals and spices mingle with stone dust, lavender and blackberries on the nose. This washes across the palate with silken waves of ripe red and blue fruit, while a subtle citrus inflection adds tension. The 2023 finishes long and structured with a pleasantly chewy sensation. There's excellent potential here, but give it a few years of cellaring to come together.
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Luis Canas Reserva Seleccion de la Familia Rioja is made from 85% Tempranillo and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon
Aged for 20 months in new oak barrels - 50% French 50% American.
45 years old vines
Alcohol: 14,5º
Total acidity: 5,73 g./l.
Volatile acidity: 0,73 g./l.
PH: 3,53
Free SO2: 28 mg./l.
Reducing sugars: 1,3 g./l.
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Tasting notes
A brilliant garnet color with cherry hints on the edges.
The nose offers a complex variety of aromas that combine to bring an intense and sophisticated wine. Initially we can find very ripe berry fruits, smoky notes, raisins and liquor. After a certain amount of aeration, the cinnamon and jam notes appear and, with a little more time, the roasted and spiced aromas are noticed more clearly.
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Winemaking and aging:
The grapes were cold macerated for 72 hours upon arrival at the winery. They underwent fermentation at 26º C in sealed cement tanks under constant thermal control, with the must pumped over daily. With the paste devatted by gravity, spontaneous malolactic fermentation took place after 45 days.
The wine was aged for 20 months in 50% medium toasted American and 50% French oak barrels. The barrel ageing not only adds tannins from the wood, but stabilizes the wine naturally. After the final racking, it was clarified in tanks with a small amount of natural egg white, decanted after 30 days and bottled directly without any type of filtration. Because this wine’s evolutionary cycle is quite slow, only corks of the highest quality available were used to ensure that it could be prolonged for several years.
Review:
Including 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, the Tempranillo-dominated 2019 Rioja Reserva Selección de la Familia is a crème de la crème selection that was aged 20 months in oak. Its deep purple hue is followed by a sensational nose of ripe black and blue fruits, cedarwood, graphite, smoked tobacco, and chocolate. This carries to a full-bodied Rioja with a powerful, layered mouthfeel, ripe yet building tannins, and serious length on the finish.
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-International Wine Review 93 Points
One of only a handful of wines in Rioja that contains Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a stylish, well-judged blend of the Bordeaux grape with 85% Tempranillo. Graphite and blackcurrant leaf aromas add an extra dimension to the red berry and bramble fruit here framed by equal proportions of French and American oak. 2024-32
-Tim Atkin 92 Points
Layered aromatics are met in the palate by dark fruits mixed with spiced and savory flavors and hints of sandalwood. A juicy midpalate joins palate-coating tannins finishing with a satisfying, ample finish. - Elaine Chukan Brown
-Wine Enthusiast 94 Points
- back
Belle Glos' first wine under the newly minted West Sonoma Coast AVA and a cellared release, this majestic vineyard brings plum with a slight burnt edge in the glass and boasts aromas of freshly tilled land, a rich oak forest in Autumn, and Crème de Cassis. Once on the palate, the acidity sparks a fire of smoked caramel and cinnamon spiked cranberry sauce. The silky-smooth texture gives way to a long and balanced finish that leaves your senses wanting more.
Review:
Located in the westernmost section of Sonoma County, this rugged, elevated, marine-influenced sub-AVA is the newest in the region. This almost nine-year-old wine immediately delivers a memorable experience through its perfume of jasmine, gardenia, and tangelo; on the palate, notes of brown-sugared cherry join a parade of orange peel and crushed stone. Grainy yet juicy strawberry weaves into vanilla and cedar as white pepper keeps the palate primed for more flavor.
-Tasting Panel 97 Points
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Siro Pacenti was founded in 1970 when Siro Pacenti established the Pelagrilli estate northeast of Montalcino; his son Giancarlo Pacenti took the reins in 1988 and, after training in Bordeaux, modernized the cellar and added the Piancornello vineyard on the appellation’s warmer southern side. The Vecchie Vigne, or “Old Vines”, bottling is drawn from the estate’s oldest Sangiovese plantings across both sites and aged in French barrique.
Brunello di Montalcino is made entirely from Sangiovese grown on the hills around the town of Montalcino in southern Tuscany, and is aged for years before release. The 2020 vintage is a touch more accessible in youth while keeping the concentration and firm, dusty tannic structure that give the wine its long aging runway.
Review:
Aromas of black cherries, bark, black truffle, ink and lead pencil follow through to a full body with perfectly integrated tannins that are caressing yet impressive and add intensity and focus to the wine. The silky tannins caress every inch of your palate. Savory finish. Drink or hold.
-James Suckling 98 Points
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