Pinot Noir that requires no rush.....

Ben Pon, the founder of Bernardus Winery, was not only a famous car importer, but also a racing driver. He raced six times at the circuit of Le Mans and participated once in a Formula 1 race. During the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix, Pon crashed on the second lap. He was thrown from the car and landed in the bushes at Scheivlak, but remained unharmed. Fortunately, he also managed to maintain his patience and wisdom by starting the Bernardus Winery. A magnificent company near Carmel Valley in the USA, one with a magnificent portfolio of wines. Wine, a product with which you should not rush and where patience is a virtue. Fortunately, we also had that with the purchase of the Bernardus Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands. A wine that you need to give some time to. The 2015 vintage is therefore perfectly ready to drink right now. A magnificent glass, the moment to drink it with fine company.

The aromas display ripe black cherries and cranberry, a hint of vanilla, and the damp forest scent so typical of Pinot Noir. On the palate, we find pure, intense aromas of red fruit and subtle herbal notes, supported by a refreshing finish. For this wine, the preference is to limit the number of new oak barrels in order to emphasize the fruit expression of these exceptional vineyards. Wonderful wines to accompany a fine meal with game birds such as pheasant or goose. Okay, okay, yes, it also goes perfectly with a good old-fashioned free-range chicken from the oven.

The Pinot Noir grapes from Bernardus are a wine from the Santa Lucia Highlands appellation. This area is famously and undisputedly the best place in Napa Valley for the Pinot noir grape. Only the best of the best is used, from vines to care and from special yeast cultures to education. After vinification, the wine is aged in French oak for 10 months.

Ben Pon

Widely traveled and gifted with impeccable taste, Ben Pon could have chosen anywhere in the world to establish his namesake Bernardus Winery, with the intention of growing premium wines. He chose Carmel Valley, with its western orientation, warm days and cold nights, and stunning beauty, convinced that his vineyards there could produce wines that rival the largest in the world. More than a quarter of a century later, he has achieved that, not only with his estate Bordeaux blend, named Marinus (after his middle name), but also with a powerful portfolio of single-vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Arroyo Seco Sauvignon Blanc.