Our sommelier, Carl, is adamant that the 2013 Domaine de la Cote “Bloom’s Field” Pinot Noir is a must-have this month. The perfect wine for entering the season that has life blooming all around us, Bloom’s Field is the wine of the month because we are entering springtime. This wine embodies the essence of spring in a glass, as it is a floral wine, and bright and easy to drink.
Take this lovely Pinot Noir to dinner with its intoxicating aromatics consisting of fresh cherries, wild strawberries, pomegranate, crushed violets, exotic spices, and a hint of black tea leaf. An incredibly balanced wine with finesse, it finishes with the extraordinary flavors of red currant, tart cherries, rose petals, as well as a touch of salinity.
Q: Can you tell us about Bloom’s Field’s origin?
The creator of Bloom’s Field is Raja Parr. He grew up in India and then came to the United States. He then went to culinary school and worked with Larry Stone, who is a master sommelier that started back in the day. He became a savant in wine and very quickly started to take over wine programs, such as the Michael Mina wine program. Afterwards, he went on to become a vineyard owner and winemaker with his friend, Sashi. Bloom’s Field ended up winning the World of Wines for Pinot Noir in a blind tasting.
Q: What makes this wine so extraordinary?
This wine is amazing because all along the coast from Washington to California we have mountain ranges that go north and south. When the moisture comes in from the coast, it gets stopped by the mountain ranges. It’s called the rain shadow effect. This area is unique because the mountain range goes east and west and the moisture cools down the berries days after with plenty of sunshine. The berries in this wine get extreme sunlight and rain at the same time from the precipitation from the sea. It is the only place in North America that does this, resulting in wine that’s both delicate and intensely flavorful.
Beautiful, refreshing, crisp, and inspired by the Burgundy region, the wine is made from grapes that are crushed and fermented in a whole cluster style, resulting in an orbatious complexity to the wine. The stems add to the tannic structure of the wine and help it age for longer. Normally, California wines are aged 10 years. However, this wine can age for 30 years.
The soil types and climate for the micro climate also create a completely different wine from other wine merely only 30 miles away.
Q: What’s the wine’s flavor profile?
The 2013 Domaine de la Cote “Bloom’s Field” is a complex bouquet of fresh fruits turned dried fruit- crisp, fresh and crunchy red fruits, black tea leaf, baking spice, and it is slightly orbatious.
It pairs well with lighter meats - chicken parm, white meats that are roasted, and grilled filet (because it’s so lean) and prime rib.The lack of tannins would not overpower the delicacy of the filet.
This wine makes the case that flavor intensity is more important than texture. It’s elegant in texture, but extremely intense in flavor, stimulating your senses and driving you to wonder how this is possible.
Q: If this wine was a personality, who would it be?
This wine would be an Audrey Hepburn- sophisticated, understated, and not in your face, but a serious broad.
Q: What is the wine’s vintage?
It’s 2013, but for them and the way they produce the wine the style of winemaking is more important than the vintage, because they don’t do a lot of manipulation and allow the fermentation to happen out of their control. Rather, hot fermentation happens for a short period of time, or it happens slowly over a period of weeks. The way that they’re making the wine speaks to its longevity vs. the vintage.
Conclusion:
Derived from grapes grown in the Santa Rita Hills of California, the wind, fog, and marine effects of the grapes’ origin have created the utmostly compelling wine that must not be missed out on.
To try enjoy this floral beauty, stop by for a decadent evening at the Steer, as we’re the only place in Las Vegas where this treasure can be found.
Critic Reviews & Scores:
Vinous (93) -
The 2013 Pinot Noir Bloom's Field is utterly beguiling from the very first taste. Layers of flavor build through the mid-palate and finish, where the 2013 shows a real sense of verticality in its structure. Dark red cherry, plum, spice and new leather meld into the expressive finish. The co-fermentation of Calera and Mount Eden clones, along with the unique personality of this site yield a Pinot Noir long on complexity and nuance. Today, the Bloom's Field appears to be holding back much of its power. There is plenty of potential here. The 2013 was done with 90% stems, all nicely integrated. (AG)
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (91) -
From a vineyard just across from the Memorious vineyard, the 2013 Pinot Noir Bloom's Field has a similar saltiness to the straight Sta. Rita Hills (the estate) release, yet has much more purity and focus to both the aromatics and flavors. Showing almost Burgundian notes of sous bois, pepper, rose petal and cherry and darker berry fruits, it's elegant and lively on the palate, with an attractive, focused and lengthy finish. This is a beautiful Pinot Noir to drink over the coming 4-6 years. (JD)
