This is such a fun wine! It’s lively, delicious, and easygoing; the perfect Tuesday wine. A spunky, inviting, and super fun nose captures you with notes of black cherry, fresh herbs, and cedar. The wine is taut with great structure, very fine-grained tannins, and fresh beautiful acidity. Flavors of boysenberry, pinecone, celery seed, Christmas spice and a hint of black licorice dance around and invite you to have another glass.
This multi-vintage blend, our seventh Cuvée, was created by blending small components from all of the vineyards in the Talisman portfolio. The synergy that resulted when these disparate lots were combined is magical, akin to the hybrid vigor displayed when certain plants are cross-bred. The winemaking was minimalist—we hand-sorted the grapes, retaining about 25% whole clusters in the bottom of the fermenters. Then we danced with Mother Nature, who provided the native yeasts and bacteria that fermented the grapes. All lots were gently punched down and received post-fermentation macerations. Aging occurred in French oak barrels.
Specs
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Appellation: Sonoma County
Aged in French oak barrels
Alcohol: 14.7%
TA: 6.2 g/L
pH: 3.71
Production: 571 cases
What’s Included
3-bottles:
3x Talisman Cuvée No. 7 Pinot Noir, Sonoma County Case:
12x Talisman Cuvée No. 7 Pinot Noir, Sonoma County
Talisman Winery is dedicated to the crafting of exquisite, soulful Pinot Noirs that are true to their roots and accurately reflect the terroir and personality of their vineyard origin.
The Talisman logo is a stylized representation of a Native American medicine wheel. The elements of the medicine wheel represent the circle of life and the four directions, reminding us of our place in the universe. The rays around the medicine wheel represent the sun, which provides energy for life on Earth and ripens grapes, allowing us to revel in the pleasures of life, including fine wine.
Available States
AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Loved this last time and was down to just a couple bottles so was rationing them. Now 2 more cases are on the way for less per bottle than the last time!!! Fun fact the wine maker and owner at Trendril Cellars in Carlton OR said he went to school with the Talisman wine maker. We had an interesting discussion about the pros and cons of NV Pinot.
@lionel47 i am by no means and expert, but here’s that I took away from the convo: pros: each year a given vineyard or block will yield a different amount of grapes due to weather, etc. This variation can make it difficult to drive standard amounts of supply and consistency of product
for this reason wineries many times like to restrict the amount they produce of a certain wine. Lets say they always want 200 cases. Some years they would have 210 or 280. The amount greater than 200 might be used in blends with other wines, but if you dont have enought excess on a given year it wont make up for extra costs of carying an additional lable. Another pro is that you can increase the complexity of a wine by mixing vintages due to the blending of brighter more fruit forward younger wines with more mature wines that may show more tertiary earth or non fruit characteristics. Now for the cons: most customers expect vintages on all wines except ports and champagnes/bubbles and dont know what to think about a NV still wine. They wont know how long to cellar it, etc and will expect it to be drink now or lower quality. This means you will be pricing it lower. Also, it may be tougher to market and compare to competitors and sell to restaurants. Finally, you have to store the wine longer as you blend from vintage to vintage.
I’m sure there are others on here that know way more about this than me and can chime in further!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
NV Talisman Cuvée No. 7 Pinot Noir - $60 = 23.07%
As always, thanks to Alice and Casemates for choosing me to be a labrat for this offer. It’s been a rough few months and just being selected was a nice thing to see this week, even if it was for one of my least favorite varietals. I’ll still try to do it justice.
I popped the bottle open early Sunday afternoon, just having an initial taste with a greek pizza (the frozen store bought kind) for lunch. Pouring it into the glass, it’s a rather light, somewhat thin, amber brown color. Somewhat tight on the nose (being somewhat of a pop-n-pour), get some light soft fruit and mild cracked pepper, maybe? Taking a few sips, was some light bramble and dark cherry. Pretty light-bodied, not much in the way of tannins. Not super fond of the finish initially…and not really sure how to describe it either. I still mostly enjoyed it enough with my pizza, but it generally takes a lot for me to actually dislike a wine.
Left it on the counter with a pouring spout/stopper in it, to then pour another couple glasses that evening with some leftover sesame chicken. The nose on the wine shifted to have more leather to it, maybe a bit more complexity to the palate as well. A little twiggy on the finish, but overall a nice wine.
Finished off my last glass of the evening with some leftover, reheated fried Oreos with a bit of chocolate sauce. It was ok pairing with those as well, but nothing really notable about it.
Not a wine I would buy, but mostly because my wife generally will never drink Pinot Noir, but it just barely meets my own “daily drinker” style. Food pairings were also likely off a bit as well, and also not having my super-taster wife able to give some opinions as well didn’t help.
Basically the tl:dr is that it’s an okay wine, and likely one that is good for people that like a nice light pinot noir.
Got the happy little email from UPS on Thursday indicating I was in possession of a golden ticket that promised a sample bottle delivery on Friday between 2-6pm. It can be a little tricky to coordinate with UPS, but I was working from home to ensure compliant acceptance of the package. Unfortunately, I got this message at noon: “Saturday Delivery Has Been Requested. / Delivery Will Be Rescheduled For Saturday.” The next message I got from UPS indicated a 2pm-6pm delivery, which perfectly aligned with Soccer Saturday morning that would see us home by 11:30. Unfortunately, our video doorbell rang at 10:45, near the end of the second half. UPS was there 3 hours early (or 17 hours late depending on your reference frame). It’s a little futuristic talking to the delivery driver while sitting at a park 5 miles away, but technology couldn’t facilitate compliance as the driver unwilling to leave the box at our door or with our neighbor. So this is a very long way of saying that my report has been delayed by a series of unfortunate events and you’ve just wasted 2 minutes of your life. Apologies. Assuming the delivery happens as scheduled I’ll share tasting notes in early evening, if the good Lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise.
@KitMarlot Bottle received! The natural cork has ample purple staining but minimal penetration. Clear cheery cherry in the glass. Very light, slightly burgundy edge. Heavy alcohol on the nose, but it blows off with repeated swirls to reveal raspberry and a touch of baking spice. Medium body on the palate, plenty of raspberry up front with a long lingering herbal finish. Medium acidity provides a firm structural backbone, no perceptible tannin. The wine is subtle and light, but has a long lingering finish that invites you back for another sip. This is really great wine.
@KitMarlot After some time in the glass and time on the counter, the wine is edging toward brown, the alcohol has mostly blown off, it is fuller, rounder and spice has come to the fore. Despite the age the color indicates, I don’t get much earth. It is a unique, balanced and full. Thanks to WCC and Alice for pulling my name out of the hat. Salut!
@StingingJ That is worth plenty… my wife and I just celebrated no. 37. We enjoy wine with dinner nearly every evening. (please do not do the math). We were both amused with the tasting note and wondered if we had been down that interesting tasting path in a prior bottle.
@kellybutler@StingingJ after reading the producer’s description, I could detect both pinecone and celery seed. I’m just glad they didn’t suggest anything unsavory! I did find a lovely herbal note that I’m guessing someone with a better palate would call ‘pinecone’, and a mellow spice note that could be described by others as ‘celery seed’ but I would call ‘baking spice’. Point is, the power of suggestion is strong, so don’t be put off by people using unusual aroma/flavor descriptions. They’re probably just bored with ‘normal’ descriptors and want to see if you’re paying attention.
Wow, I’m a simple person. Delicious - from the perspective of a dude who loves full reds (even paired with popcorn)- cabs and monastrell. Received the case yesterday. So happy In bought a case of this! I have 3 x 72 wine racks. Now I have to buy more F"ing wine racks!
Talisman Cuvée No. 7 Pinot Noir, Sonoma County
Tasting Notes
Specs
What’s Included
3-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$475.00/Case for 12x Talisman Cuvée No. 7 Pinot Noir, Sonoma County at Talisman Wine
About The Winery
Available States
AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Sep 30 - Tuesday, Oct 1
NV Talisman Cuvée No. 7 Pinot Noir
3 bottles for $64.99 $21.66/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $199.99 $16.67/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
Previous offer:
5/20/23
Loved this last time and was down to just a couple bottles so was rationing them. Now 2 more cases are on the way for less per bottle than the last time!!! Fun fact the wine maker and owner at Trendril Cellars in Carlton OR said he went to school with the Talisman wine maker. We had an interesting discussion about the pros and cons of NV Pinot.
/giphy befuddled-lowly-move
@StingingJ so, what are the advantages and disadvantages of a non-vintage Pinot?
I might pull the trigger on this one but I’m kinda skittish due to the last case of 2015 Bordeaux I bought here.
@lionel47 i am by no means and expert, but here’s that I took away from the convo: pros: each year a given vineyard or block will yield a different amount of grapes due to weather, etc. This variation can make it difficult to drive standard amounts of supply and consistency of product
for this reason wineries many times like to restrict the amount they produce of a certain wine. Lets say they always want 200 cases. Some years they would have 210 or 280. The amount greater than 200 might be used in blends with other wines, but if you dont have enought excess on a given year it wont make up for extra costs of carying an additional lable. Another pro is that you can increase the complexity of a wine by mixing vintages due to the blending of brighter more fruit forward younger wines with more mature wines that may show more tertiary earth or non fruit characteristics. Now for the cons: most customers expect vintages on all wines except ports and champagnes/bubbles and dont know what to think about a NV still wine. They wont know how long to cellar it, etc and will expect it to be drink now or lower quality. This means you will be pricing it lower. Also, it may be tougher to market and compare to competitors and sell to restaurants. Finally, you have to store the wine longer as you blend from vintage to vintage.
I’m sure there are others on here that know way more about this than me and can chime in further!
@StingingJ wow. Thanks a lot.
@lionel47 no worries!! I forgot to mention that we’ve consumed 10 of these with no corked/bad bottles.
@lionel47 Nice write up!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
NV Talisman Cuvée No. 7 Pinot Noir - $60 = 23.07%
As always, thanks to Alice and Casemates for choosing me to be a labrat for this offer. It’s been a rough few months and just being selected was a nice thing to see this week, even if it was for one of my least favorite varietals. I’ll still try to do it justice.
I popped the bottle open early Sunday afternoon, just having an initial taste with a greek pizza (the frozen store bought kind) for lunch. Pouring it into the glass, it’s a rather light, somewhat thin, amber brown color. Somewhat tight on the nose (being somewhat of a pop-n-pour), get some light soft fruit and mild cracked pepper, maybe? Taking a few sips, was some light bramble and dark cherry. Pretty light-bodied, not much in the way of tannins. Not super fond of the finish initially…and not really sure how to describe it either. I still mostly enjoyed it enough with my pizza, but it generally takes a lot for me to actually dislike a wine.
Left it on the counter with a pouring spout/stopper in it, to then pour another couple glasses that evening with some leftover sesame chicken. The nose on the wine shifted to have more leather to it, maybe a bit more complexity to the palate as well. A little twiggy on the finish, but overall a nice wine.
Finished off my last glass of the evening with some leftover, reheated fried Oreos with a bit of chocolate sauce. It was ok pairing with those as well, but nothing really notable about it.
Not a wine I would buy, but mostly because my wife generally will never drink Pinot Noir, but it just barely meets my own “daily drinker” style. Food pairings were also likely off a bit as well, and also not having my super-taster wife able to give some opinions as well didn’t help.
Basically the tl:dr is that it’s an okay wine, and likely one that is good for people that like a nice light pinot noir.
Any thoughts on whether this is a buy? I am timid on buying the full case after getting a case of all corked Bordeaux.
@HOUSTONHOARDER corked wine is a problem from the producer. So your experience with that wine being corked has nothing to do with this wine.
@klezman Thank you for pointing that out. I think I will go with the case.
Got the happy little email from UPS on Thursday indicating I was in possession of a golden ticket that promised a sample bottle delivery on Friday between 2-6pm. It can be a little tricky to coordinate with UPS, but I was working from home to ensure compliant acceptance of the package. Unfortunately, I got this message at noon: “Saturday Delivery Has Been Requested. / Delivery Will Be Rescheduled For Saturday.” The next message I got from UPS indicated a 2pm-6pm delivery, which perfectly aligned with Soccer Saturday morning that would see us home by 11:30. Unfortunately, our video doorbell rang at 10:45, near the end of the second half. UPS was there 3 hours early (or 17 hours late depending on your reference frame). It’s a little futuristic talking to the delivery driver while sitting at a park 5 miles away, but technology couldn’t facilitate compliance as the driver unwilling to leave the box at our door or with our neighbor. So this is a very long way of saying that my report has been delayed by a series of unfortunate events and you’ve just wasted 2 minutes of your life. Apologies. Assuming the delivery happens as scheduled I’ll share tasting notes in early evening, if the good Lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise.
@KitMarlot Bottle received! The natural cork has ample purple staining but minimal penetration. Clear cheery cherry in the glass. Very light, slightly burgundy edge. Heavy alcohol on the nose, but it blows off with repeated swirls to reveal raspberry and a touch of baking spice. Medium body on the palate, plenty of raspberry up front with a long lingering herbal finish. Medium acidity provides a firm structural backbone, no perceptible tannin. The wine is subtle and light, but has a long lingering finish that invites you back for another sip. This is really great wine.
@KitMarlot After some time in the glass and time on the counter, the wine is edging toward brown, the alcohol has mostly blown off, it is fuller, rounder and spice has come to the fore. Despite the age the color indicates, I don’t get much earth. It is a unique, balanced and full. Thanks to WCC and Alice for pulling my name out of the hat. Salut!
@KitMarlot Sounds like UPS Split The Bread again.
Not very often we have two diverging ratters. But this household was stuck on “no” with pinecone and celery seed.
@kellybutler FWIW i cant detect the pinecone or celery seed. My palate must be more similar to KitMarlots as my tasting notes were similar to theirs.
@StingingJ That is worth plenty… my wife and I just celebrated no. 37. We enjoy wine with dinner nearly every evening. (please do not do the math). We were both amused with the tasting note and wondered if we had been down that interesting tasting path in a prior bottle.
@kellybutler @StingingJ after reading the producer’s description, I could detect both pinecone and celery seed. I’m just glad they didn’t suggest anything unsavory! I did find a lovely herbal note that I’m guessing someone with a better palate would call ‘pinecone’, and a mellow spice note that could be described by others as ‘celery seed’ but I would call ‘baking spice’. Point is, the power of suggestion is strong, so don’t be put off by people using unusual aroma/flavor descriptions. They’re probably just bored with ‘normal’ descriptors and want to see if you’re paying attention.
@kellybutler @StingingJ Come on now, you’re among friends here! We would be concerned if the math was different.
Wow, I’m a simple person. Delicious - from the perspective of a dude who loves full reds (even paired with popcorn)- cabs and monastrell. Received the case yesterday. So happy In bought a case of this! I have 3 x 72 wine racks. Now I have to buy more F"ing wine racks!