The 2019 UV-SL Pinot Noir ascends from the glass with a rush of crushed blueberries, summer fig, and garrigue accented by cardamom and pine forest perfume. Flavors focus on black fruits, sappy berries, and an ethereal note of iron-laden soil. The tannins are ripe and refined with the elegance and energy of the vintage on full display at the finish.
Reviews:
- Wine Advocate: Medium to deep ruby-purple colored, it starts out with beguiling scent notions of crushed rocks, tilled soil, truffles and garrigue over a core of kirsch, red currant jelly and black raspberries before giving way to a spicy, fragrant perfume of cardamom, Provence herbs and lavender. The full-bodied palate is super intense and fantastically layered, offering a rock-solid backbone of racy freshness and firm, fine-grained tannins. It finishes on a persistent earthy/ferrous note.
- James Suckling: Layered aromas of dried violets and roses, ripe red and black fruit, coriander and a hint of eucalyptus. Full-bodied with bright, humming acidity that amplifies the flavors of dark fruit and mint. Densely packed flavors of melted chocolate, espresso and overturned earth. Chewy finish. Simply delicious. Best after 2024.
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.
