Pinot Noir
75cl * 13.5% ABV * Santa Barbara, California
Alexander Payne's 2004 film Sideways must be given a little credit for boosting sales of Santa Barbera Pinot Noir around the world. However, Au Bon Climat (which has been making Pinot since 1982 - two decades before Sideways was released) was always on its way to stardom. This is leagues above many others Pinots in the same price category, brimming with strawberry and blackberry aromas and a touch of clove and anise. Mouth-filling and generous, but very much in a Burgundian style. A very versatile food wine - best with lamb in its youth and better yet with more complex mushroom, truffle or game dishes as it ages.