Check out this 'Stash'

Every time I browse the wine selection available online at Stash Wines, my mouth waters. Many of the wines available for purchase through the website are some of my favorites, including the Bridesmaid wines, Lioco Chardonnay, and Pinot Noirs from the likes of Walter Hansel and Eric Kent Cellars. 

Stash owner Scot Wagner and I seem to agree on what makes a great wine—and that price isn’t necessarily the determining factor.

Offering a variety of wines at different price points, Stash has a wine to meet every budget.

Take for example the Luli Pinot Noir. I had never heard of it until I received the Stash e-newsletter last week. The $22 price tag along with Scot’s tasting notes (“velvety mouthfeel, rich aromas and marathon-like finish”) certainly got my attention. But just as you shouldn’t believe everything you see on TV, I like to do my own research. 

In my experience, the words ‘cheap’ and ‘Pinot Noir’ are mutually exclusive. It’s kind of like sushi—you get what you pay for. (Doesn’t ‘cheap sushi’ sound suspicious?) That being said, I was willing to give the 2011 Luli Pinot Noir a try.

It seems weird to see '2011' on the label of a red wine. I have yet to review a 2010 red wine, so it’s hard to imagine a 2011 red wine that’s ready to drink. I could have buried the bottle in the back of my wine fridge and held onto it for a while, but curiosity got the better of me.

At first taste, the wine seemed particularly tight and minerally. I poured a little more in my glass and swirled it. And then I swirled it a little more.

After giving it about 15 minutes to open up, this Pinot offers an elegant perfume of bright red fruit (currant, cranberry, and pomegranate) as well as purple flowers. As the wine warms up, the red fruits flavors become more effusive and the acidity mellows out. It is a dark, almost purple, hue in the glass--particularly dark for a Pinot Noir, but not opaque--and tastes of crème de cassis. It finishes big with baking spice and white pepper.

Sourced from the Santa Lucia Highlands, the Luli Pinot Noir is definitely delicious now, but it will hold well for a couple years. Luli Wines is a joint project for Sarah Floyd, Master Sommelier, and the Pisoni Family. Please order this wine from Stash.

As Scot says, “Be well. Drink well. Drink often!”