When Paul and I were out in CA in October we came upon the Stephen & Walker tasting room in Healdsburg.  It’s located just off the Plaza and we happen to be walking by in search of a place for dinner.  We stopped in for a tasting.  The 2006 Monterey Pinot Noir is one of the selections we purchased and had sent home. Six months later, we opened it.

The grape for this wine were harvested from Scheid Vineyards at 24.5 brix.  It was aged for 15 months in 4 year old oak barrels.

On the nose I go some berry, oak and cigar box. I am not big on noticing the color of the wine unless it is strikingly different.  What I did notice on this wine was the orange hue around the rim of the wine.

On the palate I got red berry, earthy flavors leading way to red cherry and raspberry with a finish of clove spice.

We opened an Irish smoked cheddar cheese with this wine.  The flavors of the cheese really complimented the wine.