Wild Horse Vineyards

About five hundred years ago, the French decided what grapes would grow where and set their decision in stone and that system still exists today. California is another story. The fertile hills and valleys there can grow almost everything to perfection. There, cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir grow side by side with chardonnay and pinot grigio; an almost universal grape nursery and yet there are certain varieties that outperform many of the others in specific locations. It is to these areas that the winemakers of the Wild Horse Winery go for their grapes.

Unlike many of the vineyards in California, Wild Horse has opted to make wine from only two varieties; Pinot Nair for a red and chardonnay for the whites both originated in the Burgundy district of France. These varieties are also not the easiest to work with as they are noted for turning on the winemaker.

The Wild Horse vintners have searched the Paso Rubes area for vineyards that produce
outstanding pinot noir and chardonnay grapes and use them to make outstanding wines that can and do compete with the very best from anywhere in the world.

Wild Horse 2010 Central Coast Pinot Noir ($25). We must admit to being partial to pinot noir wines. The Wild Horse 2010 Central Coast Pinot Noir is a rare find among pinot noir wines made in the United States or anywhere else for that matter. To begin with, the grapes come from eleven of the finest vineyards in the viticulture (grape growing) area of California called the Central Coast. The wine, made from this compendium of grapes from selected vineyards throughout the region is, to say the least, huge. It displays the aromas of sweet, ripe cherries, pomegranates, and cranberry. On the palate the
flavors of cherry and ripe red berries are the most obvious with a background of toasted oak. This is an excellent wine of fine proportions that deserves your interest: it definitely garnered ours. Try it; we are sure you will love it.

Wild Horse 2010 Bien Nacido Unbridled Chardonnay ($23.99). This is an old fashioned chardonnay; one in which the grapes and not the winemaker determine the direction of the final product. That is where the Unbridled name comes from. In simple terms, the grapes are allowed to seek their own direction. The grapes were picked in the cool of the night from two specific blocks from the award winning Bien Nacido Vineyard. When fermentation had ended, the wine was transferred to French oak barrels for that quiet aging period that turns a fiery new wine into a soft and fruity masterpiece. After a year in the barrels, the wine is sampled and then bottled. This wine has a rare balance of fruit and oak. Flavors of fresh cut apple and pear stand out with other summer fruit flavors dancing in the background. These flavors carryover to the finish, which is long and very complex. Few, if any, American chardonnay’s can even come close to the intensity and flavor of this wine. The Wild Horse 2010 Bien Nacido Chardonnay is a work of art and should not be missed if you love real chardonnay

Wild Horse 2010 Central Coast Chardonnay ($17). Expansive is the best term to describe this very fine wine. At a time when chardonnay wines are becoming commonplace and mundane, the Wild Horse 2010 Central Coast Chardonnay is a refreshing view of an old standard. This wine displays an up front and quite obvious full fruit aroma stressing apple, pear, and white peach with a hint of vanilla in the background. These aromas carryover to the flavor where they mingle with tropical fruit and green apple. There is also a spicy, toasty under flavor that has just a slight hint of oak and vanilla. This is a very pleasant wine that is easy to drink and even easier to enjoy and if you have tired of other chardonnay
wines, this offering might just revive your interest.