TASTING TRAVEL AT LIGHTPOST New Pinot Noirs won medals at competition - Laura Ness
What could be better than a great Pinot Noir? How about four of them? Hailing from as far away as San Luis Obispo and Russian River, and as near as the Santa Cruz Mountains, these wines really speak of place, and of winemaker Christian Roguenant’s eagerness to make them a snapshot of their vineyard birthplaces. I sat down with Christian and owner Sofia Fedotova to taste the latest Lightpost Winery Pinots, all of which won medals at the recent SF Chronicle Competition. The 2018 Russian River Pinot (Gold), Clone 2A and 667 from a vineyard in Guerneville, shows ripe berry, medium intensity, baking spice and soft cherry cola notes, making it an easy charmer. Heading south, the 2018 San Luis Obispo Pinot (Gold), also Clone 2A and 667, ups the ante with abundant earth, leather and savory aromas, and a wonderful structure, layered with dark cherry and chewy tannins, adding great length. The 2018 Spanish Springs Vineyard (Gold), hails from a 50-acre vineyard near Pismo Beach, and is made of 100 percent Swan clone, one of Christian’s favorites. This is a stunning red-headed beauty, exhibiting leather, incense, red cherry and cranberry, all wrapped in svelte tannin. Of the lot, the one with the most age-worthy horsepower is the head-turning 2018 Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot (Silver) from the dry-farmed Ferrari Vineyard, filled with forest floor, everlasting spice and impressive structure. There’s sure a lot of Noir to be found at Lightpost. https://southvalley.com/tasting-travel-at-lightpost
Mar 6, 2022 at 11:42 AM
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Congratulations to our Winemakers!
San Jose Mercury Artilcle -
By LAURA NESS, CORRESPONDENT |
PUBLISHED: March 14, 2021 at 7:34 a.m. | UPDATED: March 15, 2021 at 3:45 a.m.
South Bay wineries rake in medals at competition
It’s always exciting when a local winery wins big in a local competition, and winning big this year in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition was Lightpost Winery out of Morgan Hill for its 2018 Reserve Cabernet from Paso Robles, which tied with a Runquist syrah to win Best Red of Show.
Made by consulting winemaker Christian Roguenant, this was classic cabernet, with a whiff of ripe blackberries and rum balls, and flavors of chocolate-covered cherries and cassis, finishing with bold, yet supple, plush tannins.
I took these tasting notes as a judge in the competition, which this year was moved from January to the first week in March.
Another Lightpost wine, the outstanding 2019 Ferrari Vineyards pinot noir, was a Best of Class winner. It stood out for its mind-blowing aromatics of strawberry rhubarb pie, cedar and forest floor and its sensational acid core.
The week prior, another Lightpost cabernet, the 2019 “Sevastian” from the Santa Cruz Mountains, was in the sweepstakes round at the East Meets West Competition, garnering lots of support and attention from the judges for its tobacco, black pepper and fine leather aromas, and savory-sweet flavors of red cherry, pomegranate, tarragon and Hatch chile compote.
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