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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.9 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 324 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by lourod50 on 10/29/2023: Stilldrrinkable and (355 views) | | | Tasted by ppassera on 1/28/2023 & rated 95 points: Amazing Pinot! (1074 views) | | | Tasted by Bowmanifesto on 12/22/2022 & rated 93 points: Full to the brim for every sense. Masterful, powerful. (1115 views) | | | Tasted by JRL1 on 11/29/2022: Delicious but need to filter. Fair amount sediment. Lot’s of fruit…..plum, apricot and earth. Nice to start and opens up with a little time.
Very nice. (1121 views) | | | Tasted by eporres on 12/21/2021 & rated 92 points: We will travel to the ends of the earth for a perfect Pinot and pizza pairing. Tonight, a 2011 Belle Glos Clarke & Telephone with 1943 Pizza Bar’s New Haven pizza (white pizza with garlic mashed potatoes and bacon) with caramelized onions and their special white pizza with fontina, artichoke, Fresno chili, pesto and roasted mushrooms. It was an outdoor aprés ski vibe (certainly felt that way with 35°F temps! Belle Glos is a ‘controversial’ Pinot producer, with some calling it an over-extracted fruit bomb. I instead like to remind people that the Pinot grape has more genome variety than humans, so there’s plenty of room to explore. The 2011 Clarke & Telephone has mellowed out from the cherry bomb that it once was, with cherry, strawberry, cedar and spice box, mellow tannins but retains its balanced acidity. #92points. (1919 views) | | | Tasted by JGinMO on 12/8/2020 & rated 92 points: This has taken on some nice secondary flavors and is still holding together (2468 views) | | | Tasted by Dnmred on 11/20/2020: A Favorite - strong bold (1818 views) | | | Tasted by dsimmons on 5/16/2019 & rated 90 points: Last bottle of this Pinot that tastes like Grenache. Drank with a chicken in marinara sauce dish. Sweet cherry, a little cola. Very atypical but good. (3012 views) | | | Tasted by rdthomas54 on 5/3/2019 & rated 92 points: Extremely nice bottle. Smooth. Tastes of black cherry and other dark fruit. Well balanced.
The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are medium. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like strawberry, blackberry, strawberry jam and forest floor. The body is medium/full. The wine has juicy texture. The wine finishes long. The wine has medium acidity. (2593 views) | | | Tasted by mac-eye on 1/24/2019 & rated 91 points: This one seems better than a bottle I opened a few weeks ago. In a horizontal with Las Alturas, several friends like this one better. I find it a rather heavy and not very pinot-like, yet it was quite good and easy to like. None of the harshness that many pinots present with.
Not near the end of its drinking window despite the current CT range ending 2018. (2389 views) | | | Tasted by mac-eye on 1/6/2019 & rated 89 points: Pleasant but odd. Tastes more like grenache than pinot, and not a great grenache at that. But it's pretty easy to like, with intense fruit and decent balance. (1965 views) | | | Tasted by JuliannaDHS on 12/9/2018 & rated 82 points: I stand by my previous notes. It’s a crowd please though. (2001 views) | | | Tasted by JimN on 8/17/2018 & rated 85 points: Neither fish nor fowl. Way too much for Pinot; not enough for Shiraz or Grenache. Shows more alcohol than it actually has. Nothing unpleasant about it, but it doesn’t know what it is. Boring at best. (2532 views) | | | Tasted by dsimmons on 8/7/2018: Had this wine with ham. Really enjoyed the wine but... if I tasted this blind I would have guessed Grenache. Really unlike any other Pinot I have had. (1747 views) | | | Tasted by Lazerlar on 2/19/2018 & rated 92 points: Was looking for something with a little more body than a normal Pinot and thought this just might work. An off vintage, I was hopeful. It was wonderful, served at a cooler temp. Yes, this is a very dark drink but drank silky smooth. Very enjoyable (2113 views) | | | Tasted by dsimmons on 12/6/2017 & rated 92 points: Surprisingly delicious for a 2011. Lots of cherry fruit. Some cola. Drank with leftover king salmon. This wine is probably at peak. (2499 views) | | | Tasted by JuliannaDHS on 9/16/2017: Wow! I think I used to like this wine but it is so dark and hot, I wouldn't even guess this is Pinot. (2889 views) | | | Tasted by Dan & Krista Stockman on 7/16/2017 & rated 94 points: Incredible. Deep, powerful and concentrated, but with the grace of a fully-matured pinot. Makes you want to drop all your plans for the evening and just sit and drink this. (3005 views) | | | Tasted by CurlerSue on 7/15/2017: Clark & Telephone - Excellent (2775 views) | | | Tasted by Bowmanifesto on 5/22/2017 & rated 92 points: Isn't she lovely, isn't she wonderful, isn't she precious ... oh yes, she is! Love C&T, as always! (2736 views) | | | Tasted by Adman wine on 2/26/2017 & rated 90 points: Decanted and let it sit for an hour. It was delicious , good fruit, drank smoothly. Wish we had more. (2936 views) | | | Tasted by Mtpisgah on 2/13/2017: My palate has changed since we started buying these, now I find them to be huge fruit bombs. It went ok with steak but was not good for just sipping. (2313 views) | | | Tasted by corka on 12/27/2016 & rated 86 points: Maybe it was the vintage but I was not pleased with this compared to other bottles from Belle Glos that I've had. It came across unbalanced, a bit harsh for pinot, not delicate at all, I thought it was overpriced and I only paid $36 (current retail appears to be $55...no way, I can find far better pinto for this price point). (1972 views) | | | Tasted by trailrunnr on 12/26/2016 & rated 88 points: Smooth and balanced from the onset, peppery spike with nice fruity finish. (1885 views) | | | Tasted by Pluecht on 11/25/2016 & rated 84 points: Drinking very consistently. Continues to be grandmother's favorite wine. Extremely overextracted massive fruit bomb. If you like this kind of wine go for it if not turn it into sauce (2487 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By David Lawrason
WineAlign (8/28/2013)
(Belle Glos Clark & Telephone Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbara red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Szabo, MS
WineAlign (8/21/2013)
(Belle Glos Clark & Telephone Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbara red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (10/21/2012)
(Belle Glos Pinot Noir Clark & Telephone Vineyard) Very dark ruby color; baked raspberry, VA nose; baked raspberry, cherry, vanilla palate; medium finish 88 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of WineAlign and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Belle Glos Producer Website
The vineyard locations can all be described as coastal, but the climate differences are significant, depending on the amount of fog, wind, sunlight, and soil type at each site.
Each wine is crafted to distill the purest essence of the vineyard into elegant expressions of California Pinot Noir.
Winemaker Joseph Wagner chose the name Belle Glos (pronounced BELL GLOSS) to honor his grandmother, Lorna Belle Glos Wagner, a co-founder of Caymus Vineyards.
http://www.meiomiwines.com/'> Producer website
Meiomi, (pronounced May-oh-mee) , has a separate website.
Prince of Pinot Article on Belle Glos
Belle Glos: Caymus Genes
Belle Glos (pronounced BELL GLOS) is owned by the Wagner family of Napa Valley Caymus Vineyards fame. Caymus Special Select Cabernet Sauvignon, Mer Soleil Chardonnay, and Caymus Conundrum are well know wines, but the winery has a long history with Pinot Noir, producing some excellent examples from relatively warm locations of the Napa Valley (Rutherford) in the late 1970s and 1980s. They even produced a Pinot Noir Blanc wine labeled “Eye of Partridge.”
The Pinot Noir program was revived in 2001 with the release of Belle Glos Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir and the wines have improved every year since. The name comes from Charles J. (Chuck) Wagner’s mother, Loma Belle Glos Wagner, a co-founder of Caymus Vineyards. Joseph Wagner, a fourth generation winemaker whose family’s roots in the Napa Valley date to 1906, has been the label’s vineyardist and winemaker since 2002. Belle Glos is a separate label from Caymus Vineyards, much like Mer Soleil and Conundrum, made independently from wines Chuck Wagner makes at Caymus Vineyards, referred to as “by the Wagner Family” rather than “by Caymus”, but distributed by Caymus Vineyards.
Caymus farms Pinot Noir in three coastal regions including the Sonoma Coast, Santa Maria Valley and the Santa Lucia Highlands and produces vineyard-designated Pinot Noir from the estate vineyards in each region. A fourth Pinot Noir, Meiomi, is a value-priced wine found in wide distribution and restaurants. A distinctive and excellent rosé, is also produced that revives the name, “Oeil De Perdrix,” sourced from the Yorkville Highlands of Mendocino County. The Gambit Series of Pinot Noirs debuted in 2008 at Pinot Days San Francisco. These limited production single-vineyard wines with no added sulfur were intended to offer the rich and voluptuous nature of raw Pinot Noir grapes. I have not seen or heard of these wines since, but they are briefly described on the Belle Glos website.
Caymus acquired a portion of the historic Santa Maria Hills Vineyard in the 1990s. The land, on a west-facing slope of the Santa Maria Valley foothills, had been planted to Pinot Noir from 1972 to 1974, so the vines were almost ancient by California Pinot Noir standards. The vines were own rooted and the clone uncertain, but probably Martini, an heirloom clone that was one of the first Pinot Noir selections to grace California coast lands. I first reviewed the 2001 Belle Glos Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir in the July 7, 2003 issue of the PinotFile, and the wine was generally well received by the wine press. At the time, little was known of the label. Bob Hosmon of the Miami Sun Sentinel wrote, “To say that this is one of the best United States produced Pinot Noirs I’ve ever tasted is not an overstatement... if you’re looking for something truly special, you won’t be disappointed. Unfortunately no website, mail, e-mail or phone orders.” The website is still very basic and offers no opportunity to purchase the wines. With the 2002 vintage, winemakers Joseph Wagner and Jon Bolta (Conundrum) took what was already a low-yielding 76-acre vineyard and reduced the crop even more radically by regular thinning to increase the flavor concentration of the berries. When the grapes were hand harvested, they ended up with just over one ton per acre. The quality was so high and the flavors so distinctive they felt the wine deserved to be named for the vineyard that produced it which was located at the intersection of Clark & Telephone roads.
The 10-acre Sonoma Coast Taylor Lane Vineyard was planted near the town of Occidental in 1995. While Joseph Wagner was in middle school he helped develop this vineyard, clearing trees and rocks from this previously unplanted land, and laying out and planting the vine rows. To get the grapes to ripen in this cool seaside climate, the trellis system was converted to “Trentina,” named after the region in Italy where it originated, which maximizes sun exposure on the leaves. There is a very consistent diurnal temperature variation at this vineyard site which insures a good balance between ripeness and acidity. The first Belle Glos Taylor Lane Vineyard Pinot Noir was in 2002.
The Las Alturas Vineyard is located in one of the highest plantable sites in the Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey County, at altitudes of 540 to 1,210 feet. The site has warmer afternoons and tamer winds than the northern portion of the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. This 15-acre vineyard was planted to match various Pinot Noir Dijon clones to different soils and slopes of the vineyard. Yields are kept deliberately low. The inaugural vintage from this vineyard was 2004.Pinot Noir Varietal character (Appellation America) | Varietal article (Wikipedia)
Pinot Noir is the Noble red grape of Burgundy, capable of ripening in a cooler climate, which Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot will not reliably do. It is unpredictable and difficult both to grow and to vinify, but results in some of the finest reds in the world. It is believed to have been selected from wild vines two thousand years ago. It is also used in the production of champagne. In fact, more Pinot Noir goes into Champagne than is used in all of the Cote d'Or! It is also grown in Alsace, Jura, Germany, the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Romania, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Italy, and so forth, with varying degrees of success.
Pinot Noir is one of the world's most prestigious grapes. It is very difficult to grow and thrives well in France, especially in Champagne and Burgundy. Pinot Noir thrives less in hot areas, is picky on soil, and deserves some oak storage.
Pinot Noir, or Blauburgunder / Spätburgunder in German, is a blue grapevine - and, as the German name suggests, the grape comes originally from Burgundy in France.
The grape, which thrives in calcareous soils, is used primarily for the production of red wine, and it is widely regarded as producing some of the best wines in the world. The wine style is often medium-bodied with high fruit acidity and soft tannins. It can be quite peculiar in fragrance and taste, and not least in structure - which may be why it is referred to as "The Grapes Ballerina".
Pinot Noir is also an important ingredient in sparkling wines, not least in champagne since it is fruity, has good acidity and contains relatively little tannins.
The grape is considered quite demanding to grow. The class itself consists of tightly packed grapes, which makes it more sensitive to rot and other diseases.
Pinot Noir changes quite easily and is genetically unstable. It buds and matures early which results in it often being well ripened. Climate is important for this type of grape. It likes best in cool climates - in warm climates the wines can be relaxed and slightly pickled.
In cooler climates, the wine can get a hint of cabbage and wet leaves, while in slightly warmer regions we often find notes of red berries (cherries, strawberries, raspberries, currants), roses and slightly green notes when the wine is young. With age, more complex aromas of forest floor, fungi and meat emerge.
In Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Hungary, it often produces light wines with less character. However, it has produced very good results in California, Oregon and New Zealand.
With its soft tannins and delicate aroma, it is excellent for white fish, chicken and light meat. For the stored wines you can serve small game. Classic duck breast is a matter of course, a Boeuf Burgundy and Pinot Noir are pure happiness.
Pinot Noir loses quality by over-harvesting.
Pinot Noir is prone to diseases, especially rot and mildew. Viruses cause major problems especially in Burgundy.
Pinot Noir are large round grapes with thin skins. Relatively high in alcohol content. Medium rich tannins and good with acid.
As a young person, Pinot Noir has a distinctly fruity character such as raspberries, cherries and strawberries.
A mature Pinot Noir, the taste is different. Cherry goes into plum and prune flavors. It smells of rotten leaves, coffee, moist forest floor and animal wine. This must be experienced.
In warm climates you find boiled plum, some rustic, little acid.
If the grapes are over-grown, the wine will be thin, with little color and flavor.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Central Coasthttp://www.ccwinegrowers.org/links.html
http://www.discovercaliforniawines.com/regional-wine-organizations/
http://beveragetradenetwork.com/en/btn-academy/list-of-winegrowers-association-in-central-coast-california-274.htm
Central Coast AVA WikipediaSanta Maria Valley Santa Maria Valley Wine Country Association | Santa Maria Valley Wine Trail |
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