Carneros Creek Pinot Noir

Today we served several bottles of the 2005 Pinot Noir Reserve from the Carneros Creek Winery. Our guests all enjoyed this wine and said they had never heard of this winery. Surprisingly, two of the guests were from CA. It is a mild wine with soft tannins and very little oak. It starts with a very nice fruity, cherry and plum nose and has an earthy cherry, red licorice taste. It got more expressive as it opened. The winery was purchased in 2006 by Michael Mondavi, son of the late Robert Mondavi. This is their specialty at Carneros Creek. A nice $22 Pinot.