The 2017 UV-SL Vineyard from Pinot Noir master, Mark Aubert, has striking aromas of blackberry, wild blueberry, blood orange oil and liquorice. The flamboyant palate is loaded with intense dark fruit tinged with dried herbs and cedar carried by a chassis of fine-grained tannins and bright acidity.
Reviews:
- Wine Advocate: Medium to deep ruby-purple colored, the 2017 Pinot Noir UV-SL Vineyard gives gorgeous black cherries, pomegranate, fresh blackberries and wild blueberries scents with suggestions of licorice, potpourri, chocolate tart and clove with a touch of dried Provence herbs. The palate is full-bodied with a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins and oodles of freshness supporting the flamboyant black and blue fruits, finishing with an exciting herbal lift.
- Vinous: The 2017 Pinot Noir UV-SL Vineyard is the most backward and tannic of the three Aubert Pinots. Dried herbs, cedar, tobacco and menthol add striking aromatic nuance, but today it is the wine’s tannin profile that makes the strongest impression. This hillside site above Occidental yields Pinots of real distinction. I imagine the UV-SL will be the slowest of these wines to reveal itself, but it has plenty to say. Lavender, rose petals, blood orange and spices add an exotic flair to this embryonic Pinot.
Producer Information
Aubert is a small Chardonnay and Pinot Noir estate that makes wine from single-vineyard sites in Napa Valley and Sonoma. It was founded by Mark and Teresa Aubert in 1999, and today, is considered to be one of California’s cult producers.
The first vintage of Aubert was in 2000 – a Chardonnay sourced from the Ritchie Vineyard in Russian River Valley. It quickly received acclaim for its full-blown, hedonistic style and was pivotal for company’s success. Although the vineyard is no longer within the company’s holdings, the Burgundian syle in which the Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay was produced, remains as the production style throughout the wine portfolio. The chardonnay wines are barrel-fermented and aged in French oak, a majority of which is new.
Aubert’s portfolio has since expanded to an array of single-vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines, sourced from multiple vineyard sites in Russian River and Rutherford as well as Napa and Sonoma. Each wine in Aubert’s portfolio is named after the parcel of vineyard from which it is sourced and production is extremely limited. The Lauren vineyard is eight acres (3.2 hectares) of Chardonnnay, named after the founder’s daughter and was the first estate vineyard of Aubert. Today, the compnay counts over ten different vineyards within its holdings.
