On our trip to Paso Robles last year, we had a great tasting experience at Wild Horse. While they produce a wide range of wines, they are best known for their Pinot Noir. The day of our visit they had five on the tasting list ~ their widely distributed pinot, along with selections from their unbridled and cheval collections. Zach, our host, provided us with a very cool tasting experience. He lined up five glasses, and we tasted them all side by side. They were all quite good, but our two favorites were from the Unbridled series ~ the 2008 Bien Nacido Vineyard and the 2008 Arroyo Grande. Of course, we brought some home.
This weekend, we shared our 2008 Unbridled Arroyo Grande Pinot Noir with Jeff’s parents. The wine has stayed very true to our original tasting notes. It is a traditional California Pinot Noir with a wonderful balance of fruit and earthiness, both on the nose and in taste. It is more fruit forward with hints of blackberry and a little dark cherry. The finish is exceptionally smooth.
The one problem with this wine… they produced only 400 cases, and we purchased only 2 bottles.