Buena Vista 2008 Pinot Noir, Otelia’s Selection, Sonoma, California, USA.

The good folks at Buena Vista had sent the 2008 Otelia as our February 2012 club shipment, and we finally pulled it this hot and uncomfortable July weekend.  Here’s their thinking on its composition: “Named for the Count’s youngest daughter, the 2008 Otelia’s Selection Pinot Noir is plum in color, with wonderful aromas of dark fruits, black raspberry, chocolate, and white peppercorn that delights the nose.  On the palate, rich grilled flavors emerge with a core of currant, raspberry, and hints of coco [sic] bean.  The wine shows excellent balance with a nice tannin structure and smooth texture.”

Part of the reason the Buena Vista Pinots strike such a chord in our house is because they are more dark fruits (e.g., black raspberry, currant) and earthy spices (e.g., peppercorn) as opposed to strawberry and vanillas that I find a bit too cloying.  The 2008 Otelia hits a whole of lot of marks for us and will for you too, if you can find it.  The winery seems to have moved on to the 2010, which too sounds fantastic but we have yet to taste it.

I’m savoring the last glass of the bottle just now as we usher in Sunday evening, but it was a key to a great Friday night meal of grilled steak (seasoned with pepper and salt if memory serves), fresh corn from the cob, and some potato salad.  Even though it was probably still 90+ degrees by dinner time, the Pinot Noir was enjoyable and worked well with the flavors of the grilled steak.  Definitely smooth and probably even better for you if you are pulling it from some place with better temperature control than we have in our basement.