91 Points, Wine Enthusiast 90 Points, Wine & Spirits
Complexity, clarity and accuracy are the hallmarks of our 2016 Pinot Noir. It opens with cherries, currants and raspberries, then finishes with mocha, vanilla and
oak. The flavors are precise and the tannins are integrated. For those of us who prefer a more elegant style of Pinot, this is the perfect wine.
We specialize in small-lot, single-vineyard Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from our estate Riverview Vineyard. Set along the eastern benchlands of the Salinas Valley, this cold-climate site owes its vinous personality to decomposed granite soils, morning fog and strong winds off Monterey Bay some 40 miles to the north. Our unique conditions guarantee that our wines are markedly different than their brethren from the western side of the valley. To preserve the natural character, structure and flavor of the Riverview Vineyard, we use sustainable farming practices and innovative winemaking techniques. - Dave Nagengast, Winemaker
Vintage and Winemaker Notes
Vineyard
Our estate Riverview Vineyard is a 340-acre, cold-climate (Region 1), sustainably-farmed, benchland site that overlooks the Salinas River. It is situated on the east side of the Salinas Valley just below the Pinnacles National Park. This property features granitic soils, great exposure and little protection from the strong winds that scrub the valley every afternoon. It is planted to an assortment of varieties, clones and rootstocks specifically matched to the various micro-climates, soils and aspects of the terrain. The namesake Metz Road runs alongside the property.
Winemaking
The grapes were hand-picked in the early morning hours, brought to the winery and gently whole-cluster pressed. The juice was fermented in small lots in open-top fermenters using a punch-down regimen of three times per day to gently extract color and tannins. After fermentation, the must was gently pressed into a stainless steel tank for settling, then racked to 100% French oak barrels (30% new) for 14 months before bottling.
Our philosophy behind Metz Road is simple: craft a single vineyard Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that exemplify the best of Monterey.
Metz Road was created out of our desire to express the unique terroir of a single vineyard site. Each vintage, we select the top vineyard block to craft a wine that is true to the varietal and perfectly embodies the site-specific characteristics, the soul, of the vineyard.
With 11 estate vineyards, we are blessed with an amazing selection of acres to work with from vintage to vintage. In fact, we use less than 1% of the grapes we grow for our Metz Road wines. The vines are farmed for ultra-premium quality and the grapes are hand-picked at optimum ripeness in the early morning. In the winery, the grapes are hand-sorted, the juice is fermented in small lots and the wine is aged in 100% French oak barrels. Our mantra is gentle handling and minimal intervention, allowing the distinctive terroir of a single vineyard site to shine.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
I got tired of waiting for the monkey to arrive, so I ventured north into the hot jungle, found him, and wrestled this bottle from his grasp. I came out bloodied and in possession of a 2016 Metz Road Estate Pinot Noir, Riverview Vineyard, Monterey. In the end, it was well worth the life and death struggle.
I like California Pinot Noir - hat tip to the 2010 rpm tour - especially from Carneros (Buena Vista Ramal, Kent Rasmussen), parts of the Sonoma Coast (think Fort Ross, Rivers-Marie), and most of the Santa Rita Hills. My Oregon pinot preferences are still developing, but I recently enjoyed Ken Wright and Domain Serene, and Torii Mor back in the day. I am not a Burg-hound, as I don’t have enough budget to drink the Grand Cru’s, or anything close. I’ve had bad Pinot - Cycles Gladiator, anyone?
The cork came out clean and with very little stain. In the glass, it’s ruddy red with a garnet tinge. After swirling it has a lot of long narrow legs. There are aromas of cinnamon, roses, and strawberries.
Upon tasting, I found it to have a light to medium body, with lots of bright cherries, fresh raspberries, dusty tannins, sage, good acid, with a dry, spicy short to medium length finish. Overall it was smooth and balanced, and really easy to drink. And oh yeah, very tasty.
It went well with various dinners over the 3 nights we had it, and was also good on its own. It didn’t change much over the 3 days. It is gently fruit-forward, and isn’t too complex. SWMBO liked it very much, although she didn’t have any specific comments. She is not as big a pinot fan as I am, so that’s saying something. While I doubt it will evolve much from here, I think it’ll keep at this level for at least 2-3 years.
Final verdict (or as the kids say, tl;dr): Solid at $25, the Casemates price is a steal for an approachable, delicious, weeknight California vineyard designate Pinot Noir.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2016 Metz Road Pinot Noir - $45 = 27.26%
What an enjoyable wine to labrat. My wife and I haven’t been drinking all that much pinot lately, so I was a little nervous when I opened the box and saw what was there. Generally we’ve been drinking bigger wines, and have only been drinking the pinot we get from Iron Horse’s wine club. We got the bottle last weekend and let it hang out, popping it last night.
The Metz Road has a great balance to be an every day drinker. I wouldn’t say it’s elegant, but it’s structured enough to drink without food.
It’s fruit forward without being overpowering. Cherry and berries, but it’s balanced against an excellent earthy funk, which I personally love in pinot. When first opened, the acid cuts nicely. I don’t remember what the alc % is offhand, but it doesn’t drink hot or jammy in the least. I think the best comparable I have is Macrostie. The funk sticks with it as it opens up, and the fruit comes forward more. Overall, I’d call it a medium bodied pinot that drinks very well right now.
I was expecting this to be around $15 a bottle at the case price, and it’s an absolute steal at $10. This is a great daily drinking pinto that’ll hold up to food if you want, but is interesting enough to drink on it’s own. I’d absolutely buy a case of this to have around this winter when I want something a little lighter.
ddeuddeg got notification that a bottle was on its way. Of course, we were quite excited, wondering what it would be. It turned out to be the 2016 Metz Road Pinot Noir Riverview Vineyard Estate Grown from Monterey. Since it was a 2016 Pinot Noir, from a region where we typically do not get our Pinots, we decided to open it a bit earlier than we were planning on eating. Since ddeuddeg was picking up the spaghetti dinners from a benefit that we were supporting, I got to do the honors.
I felt that I should also give the wine an initial taste. After I pulled the cork, I got a lot of alcohol on the nose. It was almost off-putting. This wine is 14.5% alc. I poured a taste portion. It was a beautiful light, clear ruby color. I swirled the wine a bit and still got heavy alcohol on the nose. (ddeuddeg was right, it needed some time to open up.) But I kept moving forward. I gave it a taste and got high alcohol on the palate, so much so, that I wasn’t getting much of anything else on the flavor profile. I think I detected some raspberry and light notes of cherry. It definitely needed time to open up, and so, I gave it time in the open bottle.
I opened the wine at 5:15 PM and we began dinner at about 5:50. The wine had a little over a half-hour to open up. And that, is exactly what it needed: time to open up and food. This is definitely a food wine. The alcohol burned off after the time being open and now I found a light-bodied wine with a more pronounced raspberry and red fruit nose and palate. Do not equate this with a sweet wine. It is not sweet. It is a dry red with a bit of pinot funk.
This Pinot Noir was quite enjoyable once it opened up. It was perhaps not the best pairing with the red sauce, but this is quite an enjoyable wine. And a great QPR! It is not a big bold Pinot Noir. If you want big and bold in your Pinot Noir, you’ll have to go elsewhere for that, we have a few of those in our cellar! Cheers!
This was a really interesting opportunity, especially having tried a Willamette Valley PN just a few nights earlier. While I enjoyed that one, the Metz Road was much more complex, and after it had a few minutes to breathe, more to my liking. I never used to be much of a PN enthusiast, but over the years, particularly since the 2010 rpm tour, I’ve really come to like it quite a bit. This one was very much true to varietal character, cherries and raspberries, and some herbal note I can never get my finger on, but I like it. I was a bit apprehensive about the food pairing; spaghetti and meatballs wouldn’t have been my first choice, but that’s the way the week worked out. That said, it turned out to be a nice accompaniment for the meal. The one thing that really surprised me: if you had put a glass of this wine in front of me (blindfolded), I would have bet money on it being from Carneros, it had that wonderful funk I always encounter in that region. Nope. Monterey. Doesn’t matter, I really loved it, and it’s a terrific deal, especially at the case price.
I waffled over this all weekend; good rattage and other reviews convinced me to get a case. I have way too much wine; my relatives will love me over the holidays!
@rjquillin
Oh! I didn’t know this had actually been ordered? It won’t list/show any locations close to me. The closest one is over 90 minutes away. I have no idea what to do with this?
Tasting Notes
91 Points, Wine Enthusiast
90 Points, Wine & Spirits
Complexity, clarity and accuracy are the hallmarks of our 2016 Pinot Noir. It opens with cherries, currants and raspberries, then finishes with mocha, vanilla and
oak. The flavors are precise and the tannins are integrated. For those of us who prefer a more elegant style of Pinot, this is the perfect wine.
We specialize in small-lot, single-vineyard Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from our estate Riverview Vineyard. Set along the eastern benchlands of the Salinas Valley, this cold-climate site owes its vinous personality to decomposed granite soils, morning fog and strong winds off Monterey Bay some 40 miles to the north. Our unique conditions guarantee that our wines are markedly different than their brethren from the western side of the valley. To preserve the natural character, structure and flavor of the Riverview Vineyard, we use sustainable farming practices and innovative winemaking techniques. - Dave Nagengast, Winemaker
Vintage and Winemaker Notes
Vineyard
Our estate Riverview Vineyard is a 340-acre, cold-climate (Region 1), sustainably-farmed, benchland site that overlooks the Salinas River. It is situated on the east side of the Salinas Valley just below the Pinnacles National Park. This property features granitic soils, great exposure and little protection from the strong winds that scrub the valley every afternoon. It is planted to an assortment of varieties, clones and rootstocks specifically matched to the various micro-climates, soils and aspects of the terrain. The namesake Metz Road runs alongside the property.
Winemaking
The grapes were hand-picked in the early morning hours, brought to the winery and gently whole-cluster pressed. The juice was fermented in small lots in open-top fermenters using a punch-down regimen of three times per day to gently extract color and tannins. After fermentation, the must was gently pressed into a stainless steel tank for settling, then racked to 100% French oak barrels (30% new) for 14 months before bottling.
Specifications
Included in the Box
Price Comparison
$468.59/case at Metz Road Wines (including shipping)
About The Winery
Winery: Metz Road Wines
Location: Greenfield, CA
Our philosophy behind Metz Road is simple: craft a single vineyard Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that exemplify the best of Monterey.
Metz Road was created out of our desire to express the unique terroir of a single vineyard site. Each vintage, we select the top vineyard block to craft a wine that is true to the varietal and perfectly embodies the site-specific characteristics, the soul, of the vineyard.
With 11 estate vineyards, we are blessed with an amazing selection of acres to work with from vintage to vintage. In fact, we use less than 1% of the grapes we grow for our Metz Road wines. The vines are farmed for ultra-premium quality and the grapes are hand-picked at optimum ripeness in the early morning. In the winery, the grapes are hand-sorted, the juice is fermented in small lots and the wine is aged in 100% French oak barrels. Our mantra is gentle handling and minimal intervention, allowing the distinctive terroir of a single vineyard site to shine.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Friday, November 29th - Tuesday, December 3rd
Metz Road Pinot Noir
4 bottles for $54.99 $13.75/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $119.99 $10/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2016 Metz Road Pinot Noir
Are we to expect an @merrybill Lab Rat Report?
@rjquillin
Hoping for some rats!
@rjquillin is there anything you don’t know?
@merrybill @rjquillin
Waiting for merrybill…
@losthighwayz The original title of the Beckett play, right?
I got tired of waiting for the monkey to arrive, so I ventured north into the hot jungle, found him, and wrestled this bottle from his grasp. I came out bloodied and in possession of a 2016 Metz Road Estate Pinot Noir, Riverview Vineyard, Monterey. In the end, it was well worth the life and death struggle.
I like California Pinot Noir - hat tip to the 2010 rpm tour - especially from Carneros (Buena Vista Ramal, Kent Rasmussen), parts of the Sonoma Coast (think Fort Ross, Rivers-Marie), and most of the Santa Rita Hills. My Oregon pinot preferences are still developing, but I recently enjoyed Ken Wright and Domain Serene, and Torii Mor back in the day. I am not a Burg-hound, as I don’t have enough budget to drink the Grand Cru’s, or anything close. I’ve had bad Pinot - Cycles Gladiator, anyone?
The cork came out clean and with very little stain. In the glass, it’s ruddy red with a garnet tinge. After swirling it has a lot of long narrow legs. There are aromas of cinnamon, roses, and strawberries.
Upon tasting, I found it to have a light to medium body, with lots of bright cherries, fresh raspberries, dusty tannins, sage, good acid, with a dry, spicy short to medium length finish. Overall it was smooth and balanced, and really easy to drink. And oh yeah, very tasty.
It went well with various dinners over the 3 nights we had it, and was also good on its own. It didn’t change much over the 3 days. It is gently fruit-forward, and isn’t too complex. SWMBO liked it very much, although she didn’t have any specific comments. She is not as big a pinot fan as I am, so that’s saying something. While I doubt it will evolve much from here, I think it’ll keep at this level for at least 2-3 years.
Final verdict (or as the kids say, tl;dr): Solid at $25, the Casemates price is a steal for an approachable, delicious, weeknight California vineyard designate Pinot Noir.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2016 Metz Road Pinot Noir - $45 = 27.26%
What an enjoyable wine to labrat. My wife and I haven’t been drinking all that much pinot lately, so I was a little nervous when I opened the box and saw what was there. Generally we’ve been drinking bigger wines, and have only been drinking the pinot we get from Iron Horse’s wine club. We got the bottle last weekend and let it hang out, popping it last night.
The Metz Road has a great balance to be an every day drinker. I wouldn’t say it’s elegant, but it’s structured enough to drink without food.
It’s fruit forward without being overpowering. Cherry and berries, but it’s balanced against an excellent earthy funk, which I personally love in pinot. When first opened, the acid cuts nicely. I don’t remember what the alc % is offhand, but it doesn’t drink hot or jammy in the least. I think the best comparable I have is Macrostie. The funk sticks with it as it opens up, and the fruit comes forward more. Overall, I’d call it a medium bodied pinot that drinks very well right now.
I was expecting this to be around $15 a bottle at the case price, and it’s an absolute steal at $10. This is a great daily drinking pinto that’ll hold up to food if you want, but is interesting enough to drink on it’s own. I’d absolutely buy a case of this to have around this winter when I want something a little lighter.
@rmm989 IH and Macrostie; good company.
@rjquillin I wouldn’t say it’s as good as macrostie, but I think someone who likes that style will like this
Pinot, $10, and 2 good reviews…I’m in for a case.
/giphy arrogant-qualified-ass
What a great order name!
2nd case since Shipping Season opened Nov 1
@kaolis As long as they’re qualified…
They appear to be.
…
…
I might have to study a bit longer just to make sure.
And the Wine Enthusiast review:
https://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/metz-road-2016-riverview-vineyard-estate-grown-pinot-noir-monterey-306331/
fwiw
ddeuddeg got notification that a bottle was on its way. Of course, we were quite excited, wondering what it would be. It turned out to be the 2016 Metz Road Pinot Noir Riverview Vineyard Estate Grown from Monterey. Since it was a 2016 Pinot Noir, from a region where we typically do not get our Pinots, we decided to open it a bit earlier than we were planning on eating. Since ddeuddeg was picking up the spaghetti dinners from a benefit that we were supporting, I got to do the honors.
I felt that I should also give the wine an initial taste. After I pulled the cork, I got a lot of alcohol on the nose. It was almost off-putting. This wine is 14.5% alc. I poured a taste portion. It was a beautiful light, clear ruby color. I swirled the wine a bit and still got heavy alcohol on the nose. (ddeuddeg was right, it needed some time to open up.) But I kept moving forward. I gave it a taste and got high alcohol on the palate, so much so, that I wasn’t getting much of anything else on the flavor profile. I think I detected some raspberry and light notes of cherry. It definitely needed time to open up, and so, I gave it time in the open bottle.
I opened the wine at 5:15 PM and we began dinner at about 5:50. The wine had a little over a half-hour to open up. And that, is exactly what it needed: time to open up and food. This is definitely a food wine. The alcohol burned off after the time being open and now I found a light-bodied wine with a more pronounced raspberry and red fruit nose and palate. Do not equate this with a sweet wine. It is not sweet. It is a dry red with a bit of pinot funk.
This Pinot Noir was quite enjoyable once it opened up. It was perhaps not the best pairing with the red sauce, but this is quite an enjoyable wine. And a great QPR! It is not a big bold Pinot Noir. If you want big and bold in your Pinot Noir, you’ll have to go elsewhere for that, we have a few of those in our cellar! Cheers!
This was a really interesting opportunity, especially having tried a Willamette Valley PN just a few nights earlier. While I enjoyed that one, the Metz Road was much more complex, and after it had a few minutes to breathe, more to my liking. I never used to be much of a PN enthusiast, but over the years, particularly since the 2010 rpm tour, I’ve really come to like it quite a bit. This one was very much true to varietal character, cherries and raspberries, and some herbal note I can never get my finger on, but I like it. I was a bit apprehensive about the food pairing; spaghetti and meatballs wouldn’t have been my first choice, but that’s the way the week worked out. That said, it turned out to be a nice accompaniment for the meal. The one thing that really surprised me: if you had put a glass of this wine in front of me (blindfolded), I would have bet money on it being from Carneros, it had that wonderful funk I always encounter in that region. Nope. Monterey. Doesn’t matter, I really loved it, and it’s a terrific deal, especially at the case price.
/giphy microscopic-terrestrial-boa
Four great Rats.
How can I not get a case, to drink or gift.
Yup, that time is coming right up.
What a worthless order phrase for a giphy
needy-perfumed-nettle
So much kind rattage led me to a case… But then this…
enormous-present-vinegar
Seriously? Is that the case I’m receiving?
I’m gonna grab a 4 pack unless anyone in PDX wants half a case?
Anyone in Vegas want to split a case? LMK.
Anyone in the Syracuse NY area up for splitting a case…I have free shipping = even better case value…LMK
/giphy gushing-gloating-brain
Great rattage and value-priced, I was just about to pull the trigger when I noticed… no Ohio?
@chipgreen I’ve been ‘active’ lately. I would join in if you want to grab a case. I’d take up to 6 since this seems well liked.
@pjmartin
I will pull the trigger if they open it up to Ohio.
I just finished a couple cases of every-day-drinkers. With such great rattage…in for a case!
/giphy imaginary-foolish-muscle
/giphy withered-unhurried-police
/giphy perilous-tantalizing-gerbil
Going to Casemates-leg from PA.
I waffled over this all weekend; good rattage and other reviews convinced me to get a case. I have way too much wine; my relatives will love me over the holidays!
@chipgreen
Time to check you opera mail and act!
@rjquillin
Oh! I didn’t know this had actually been ordered? It won’t list/show any locations close to me. The closest one is over 90 minutes away. I have no idea what to do with this?