Our Pinot Noir is bright, open, and perfumed with intense aromatics and layers of ripe red fruit. Flavors of strawberries, raspberries, and cherries blend elegantly with underlying notes of vanilla from French oak aging. Medium-bodied with soft and silky tannins, the lingering finish delivers an elegant and graceful offering.
The grapes for our Pinot Noir are grown on estate vineyards in the cool, rocky Arroyo Seco AVA of Monterey County. Each morning, cold marine air from the Monterey Bay drifts down the valley in a thick fog that burns off by midday. These unique conditions allow our grapes to mature slowly on the vine, leading to intense flavor development, heightened varietal character, and lively acidity.
Nestled in the heart of Monterey wine country, Andover Estate is dedicated to sustainably growing grapes and handcrafting balanced, elegant wines that express the essence of our vineyards. Cultivating a healthy world is important to us, which is why our wines are certified sustainable from grapes to glass.
Estate Grown
The grapes for our Andover Estate wines are grown on estate-owned vineyards in the cool, rocky Arroyo Seco appellation of Monterey County. Arroyo Seco means ādry riverbedā and the appellation is characterized by soil that is strewn with palm-sized river stones that were deposited thousands of years ago by the Arroyo Seco River. These large rocks retain warmth during the day and then radiate it back onto the vines after the sun sets.
With cool morning fogs that unfold into warm days and breezy afternoons, ripening of the grapes takes time and this region is known for having an exceptionally long growing season. It is well worth the wait for with slow maturation comes intense flavor development, heightened varietal character and lively acidity. Each year we produce limited bottlings of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from this special, rocky place.
Sustainable Farming
Andover Estate is independently certified sustainable through the Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing (CCSW) program and the international organization GLOBAL G.A.P (Good Agricultural Practices). The CCSW program sets forth best practices in environmental stewardship, conservation of natural resources, and socially equitable business practices as well as conducting yearly, independent audits of participants. GLOBAL G.A.P. is the internationally recognized standard for farm production whose goal is safe and sustainable agricultural production.
I was excited to see an early in the year Lab Rat email. Big thanks to Alice for sending this our way!
The bottle arrived and this wine is shouting for attention with its bright, but handsome, label. Iāve never heard of the vineyard and for a second, I wondered if it was from the Northeast since Andover Estate sounds like someplace from the Northeast to me.
I got an aerator for Christmas and decided to use that with this bottle. On PnP, this wine is very clear. Almost looks like cranberry juice in a Casemates glass. Very thin. We swirled it around and eventually got a few legs. Checked out the label and itās 13.5% alcohol.
The nose is wonderful, it smells like fresh macerated strawberries. Maybe a tiny hint of oak in there somewhere. But not much else. The nose was my favorite part of this wine.
As you might have expected, we found that it is a light, easy drinking Pinot Noir. Itās almost like an off-dry white, it starts out with a hint of sweetness then mellows out with some pleasant dryness. I could taste nothing but red fruit: strawberries and fresh cherries. At first there was not much of a finish with this one. As the night unfolded this opened up a bit and the finish became a bit bolder. We finished it, it is definitely an easy drinker.
We paired this with a nice meal of grilled rib eye, twice baked potatoes and Brusselās sprouts. Maybe a bit too much for this light Pinot.
I enjoyed this for what it was. My wife thought it was just ok. I suspected this would be a $99/case wine and I nailed it. Itās a decent value, however Iād save it for the summer.
TL;DR review: This is a light and easy Pinot Noir, full of red fruit on the nose and to the taste. This would be a fantastic summer drinker when itās hot outside.
Aerator was just ok, decanter is the way to go I think.
But I also think no aerator or full on decanter would not have made much of a difference with this one. Some wines are what they are. I enjoyed it but it is what it is. Would be a good summer drinker.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2021 Andover Estate Pinot Noir - $20 = 16.66%
Tempted to try it, but after doing some research I see Andover Estates is in the Monterey Region of California. Nothing about that area speaks to me of the cooler temperatures youād expect for growing expressive Pinot Noir grapes. Iāve seen mainly positive reviews and the only score Iāve seen was an 88, which would be really good, but seems like itās probably too high. Went to their site and they have a recipe alongside their wines for incorporating their wines into a sauceā¦which was a little bit of a turnoff as Iām not looking to buy cooking wine. All in all, Iām still on the fence. I do enjoy Pinot noirs and this would be a great value for daily drinker, the nose sounds delightful, but I wonder how often I would actually go to it if itās as simple as described. Drinking period looks to be through 2027. Still mulling it over.
@user33071884 I appreciate the fact that itās sustainably farmed, but in theory practices like deficit irrigation would work against an expressive Pinot Noir grape that I believe is said to be very thirsty.
2021 Andover Estate Pinot Noir, Arroyo Seco, Monterey
Tasting Notes
Specs
Whatās Included
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale on winery website, $312/case MSRP
About The Winery
Estate Grown
Sustainable Farming
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Feb 3 - Thursday, Feb 6
2021 Andover Estate Pinot Noir
6 bottles for $59.99 $10/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $99.99 $8.33/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
I was excited to see an early in the year Lab Rat email. Big thanks to Alice for sending this our way!
The bottle arrived and this wine is shouting for attention with its bright, but handsome, label. Iāve never heard of the vineyard and for a second, I wondered if it was from the Northeast since Andover Estate sounds like someplace from the Northeast to me.
I got an aerator for Christmas and decided to use that with this bottle. On PnP, this wine is very clear. Almost looks like cranberry juice in a Casemates glass. Very thin. We swirled it around and eventually got a few legs. Checked out the label and itās 13.5% alcohol.
The nose is wonderful, it smells like fresh macerated strawberries. Maybe a tiny hint of oak in there somewhere. But not much else. The nose was my favorite part of this wine.
As you might have expected, we found that it is a light, easy drinking Pinot Noir. Itās almost like an off-dry white, it starts out with a hint of sweetness then mellows out with some pleasant dryness. I could taste nothing but red fruit: strawberries and fresh cherries. At first there was not much of a finish with this one. As the night unfolded this opened up a bit and the finish became a bit bolder. We finished it, it is definitely an easy drinker.
We paired this with a nice meal of grilled rib eye, twice baked potatoes and Brusselās sprouts. Maybe a bit too much for this light Pinot.
I enjoyed this for what it was. My wife thought it was just ok. I suspected this would be a $99/case wine and I nailed it. Itās a decent value, however Iād save it for the summer.
TL;DR review: This is a light and easy Pinot Noir, full of red fruit on the nose and to the taste. This would be a fantastic summer drinker when itās hot outside.
@GatorFL One too many apostrophes - āBrusselsā is a name, not a possessive.
[But at least you got the āsā, which is so often left off.]
@rpstrong Spell check did that!
@GatorFL And the spell checker is blaming the proofreaderĀ .Ā .Ā .
@GatorFL Any chance you had a few sips before it went through the aerator?
@kaolis Nope.
Aerator was just ok, decanter is the way to go I think.
But I also think no aerator or full on decanter would not have made much of a difference with this one. Some wines are what they are. I enjoyed it but it is what it is. Would be a good summer drinker.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2021 Andover Estate Pinot Noir - $20 = 16.66%
Scheid Family owns a lot of labels
@DanOR Good catch!
Tempted to try it, but after doing some research I see Andover Estates is in the Monterey Region of California. Nothing about that area speaks to me of the cooler temperatures youād expect for growing expressive Pinot Noir grapes. Iāve seen mainly positive reviews and the only score Iāve seen was an 88, which would be really good, but seems like itās probably too high. Went to their site and they have a recipe alongside their wines for incorporating their wines into a sauceā¦which was a little bit of a turnoff as Iām not looking to buy cooking wine. All in all, Iām still on the fence. I do enjoy Pinot noirs and this would be a great value for daily drinker, the nose sounds delightful, but I wonder how often I would actually go to it if itās as simple as described. Drinking period looks to be through 2027. Still mulling it over.
@user33071884 I appreciate the fact that itās sustainably farmed, but in theory practices like deficit irrigation would work against an expressive Pinot Noir grape that I believe is said to be very thirsty.