Escudo Rojo Pinot Noir Reserva

Just like the previous post, we come by this wine via a vendor's choice placement in the store.  Eric is so reliable we let him mix up a few cases of wines he thought might do well here and as always, we're grateful for his acumen.

Escudo Rojo is Chilean Pinot Noir from the Baron Philippe de Rothschild organization, which not so humbly calls it an iconic brand in their promotional literature; which is tooting their own horn, I would say.  

The wine is a big business endeavor sourcing their pinot grapes from the Casablanca Valley, which does well with that variety.  They blend grapes from the flatlands of the Atlantic side of the appellation with those from the higher terrain eastern side to achieve the level of quality they need.  They say the maritime-influence and sandy soil of the western side provide freshness while the higher elevation eastern granite soils bring minerality and elegance.  The wine is then aged in new oak for six months before seeing a year or two in old barrels.

The result shows an inviting nose of fresh and complex forward red fruit and almonds followed by an attack of elegant, succulent tannins along with the fruit on the palate, then finishing with the fresh red fruits again.

All of the above text is derived from the Rothschild promotional material.  Here is what we would like you to know: Pinot Noir needs the savory side of the palette spectrum and that's what Chile does so well.  We all love fruitiness in wine and if a producer has great pinot fruit and wants to feature that without the oak then we're all for it.  Truly great pinot is a wonder to behold.  What is all too often the case though is that the pinot is mediocre and the winemaking adjustments meant to amend the problem only seem to make it worse.  That's where savoriness comes into play.  So much of pinot magic happens when the fruit meets savoriness.  That kind of complexity is to die for.