Windy Oaks, Schultze Family Estate Cuvee Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains

Windy Oaks · California › Santa Cruz Mountains › United States of America

Red · Pinot Noir
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LWIN 1760930
Critics Average score from professional wine critics and publications.
91 /100
Reviews
21
professional

Vintages

No vintages

No vintage-specific entries have been added for this wine.

NV

Community Reviews

25
25
Reviews
91.0
Avg Score
93
Highest
Taster #8375 · Nov 30, 2023
92/100
With Turkey and fixings….. Delicious very well integrated bright with solid acid. Smoke, apple, dark plum, light caramel and nuts. Strawberries and sous bois come through after an hour. Great QPR!
2010 vintage
Taster #7147 · Jun 6, 2020
91/100
Bright earthy (swampy- it's SCM Pinot!) nose. When picked up at winery, Jim and his son said the 2010 vintage was so good, it was hard to select the Cuvee from the Reserve and Tarra Narro. Very good Pinot all the way to last glass. Drink if you have this left in cellar. Will hold for another year- why wait?
2010 vintage
Taster #2431 · May 28, 2020
85/100
Generally a big fan of this winery, but this was a sub-par performance for one of its pinots. A bit too much alcohol. Not bad, just missed expectations. Hard to tell if over the hill or just is overall an unbalanced wine.
2010 vintage
Taster #8689 · Nov 17, 2019
Recent auction purchase. Bold, intense, new world fruit with abundant acidity. As many others have noted, strawberry, cherry, cola, spicy oak, and orange peel. A little more oak than I prefer, TBH. I don't know, I enjoyed this, but by the end of the first glass, it seemed a little heavy and I just didn't feel like having a second glass. I was drinking this on its own as a cocktail over two evenings, so perhaps this would have been …
2010 vintage
Taster #8698 · Nov 10, 2018
91/100
Balsamic strawberry nose.. opened up over 4 hours without fading. Cranberry and strawberry fruit flavors with a cola note. Drink now.
2010 vintage
Taster #8698 · Jun 18, 2018
91/100
In a good spot and drank well on PNP. Held together over a few hours. Served slightly chilled due to the early summer heat. Primarily picked up tart strawberry flavor with some spice. Light and drinkable today.
2010 vintage
Taster #8698 · Apr 17, 2018
91/100
Consumed from Coravin over a 1.5 weeks. The last glass was the best glass. The first glass pulled was sharp edged, most elements of the nose and palate were masked by an intense acidity and almost sour VA note. Everything pulled together by the last glass, the off-putting sharp acidic notes had dissipated and a more familiar expression of CA pinot came to the fore (bright red fruit, strong acidity, cola, some oak). Give this some air.
2010 vintage
Taster #8698 · Mar 13, 2018
91/100
Powerful acidity (almost too much), loads of spice and dried cranberries. Interested in seeing how this evolves.
2010 vintage
Taster #6789 · Feb 9, 2018
Cranberry colored and slightly cloudy. Nose of tart red fruit and spice. Very spicy on the palate with tart red fruits and orange rind playing supporting roles. Lemony acidity with a silky mouthfeel. Good on it’s own and better with food to tame the acidity. Really enjoying the spice. While it will keep for several years, I don’t see this improving.
2010 vintage
Taster #1863 · Nov 30, 2016
91/100
PnP. Significant bricking with a clear rim. Bright red fruit (strawberry and cranberry) with some spice on the nose. Palate has much darker fruit and good acidity. Air smooths out some oak influence.
2010 vintage
Taster #1863 · Aug 19, 2016
91/100
PnP. No formal notes but enjoyable.
2010 vintage
Taster #3127 · Mar 23, 2016
92/100
Popped and poured. Typical Windy Oaks Cuvee. It has developed good secondary characteristics. It's in a great place right now, but will likely last a few more years at a minimum.
2010 vintage
Taster #8502 · Jan 16, 2016
91/100
Clear garnet color. Nose of spice, mineral, sour cherry, and black cherry. Palate repeats the nose. Nice finish with medium acidity and decent grip. Drink with a short decant or continue to hold.
2010 vintage
Taster #8502 · Jun 15, 2015
91/100
Nose of sour cherry, red berries, hints of mushroom and orange tea. On the palate, bright tart cherry, raspberry, tea, hint of mineral. Clean finish with good acidity and soft tannins. Hitting its prime. Drink or hold a few more.
2010 vintage
Taster #6985 · Feb 21, 2015
91/100
WIML91 Tasted blind as part of Blind Pinot Tasting. Garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose is a little tight gradually giving way to notes of soapstone, berries and plums. Flavors of berries, raspberries and cherries. Medium acidity, medium tannin, medium bodied. Drink now with a little air to jump start the aromatics. My guess was this is a California Pinot Noir. Unclear on vintage or producer. This wine came in 3rd place out of 14 wines with …
2010 vintage
Taster #2969 · Feb 14, 2015
93/100
Tasted blind in a lineup of 14 double blind pinots. Double decanted for sediment 90 minutes prior to the start of the tasting. Beautiful red fruit and baking spice nose with similar features to the palate. Very nice, slightly chalky texture with a consistent and long length finish. Easily the longest and most pleasant finish of the lineup. My WOTN and the group's #3. Rated 93-94. Drink now with some air but plenty of runway ahead.
2010 vintage
Taster #9935 · Jul 26, 2014
93/100
Consumed over 5 hours. Tart red berry fruit on the PnP, and kept getting better and better as the night went on. Notes of raspberry, cranberry, orange rind, mineral, forest floor, baking spices, and a touch of strawberry underneath. Medium-bodied with soft tannins, good mix of acidity and a velvety lush finish that lingered. A real treat. Ready to go with at least couple of hours of decanting.
2010 vintage
Taster #7082 · Jul 3, 2014
92/100
Classic Windy Oaks profile of red fruits, orange peel, and spices. A lovely wine drinking very well right now.
2010 vintage
Taster #0880 · Jun 1, 2014
91/100
The nose is absolutely bursting with ripe raspberry aromas and a hint of pine, fresh mint and sweet cream. There's also a nice touch of wild blueberry. Super elegant mouthfeel with flavors of ripe red fruit and just a hint of oak. Nice finish. Great QPR.
2010 vintage
Taster #4152 · Feb 9, 2014
90/100
This pinot although very drinkable has some upside with a couple of years more ageing. I did a P&P however it probably would have showed better with an hour in the decanter. The best thing about this bottle was the incredibly complex nose that just exploded out of the Burgundy Zalto. A very nice burgundy style wine that Joan and I loved.
2010 vintage
Taster #6198 · Dec 26, 2013
91/100
Lovely wine at Christmas. Drinking well right now. Nice dark red fruits with spice.
2010 vintage
Taster #3552 · Dec 11, 2013
91/100
Very nice, not overdone. Good f
2010 vintage
Taster #8708 · Nov 24, 2013
Lovely pinot noir, and at a price that almost qualifies it as a bargain. The Windy Oaks wines are so consistent, there is definitely a lush signature style that everyone from geeks to neophytes can enjoy. Very, very fruity, almost no tannin. Great with filet mignon. Very Good+.
2010 vintage
Taster #0880 · Sep 28, 2013
Great expression of Pinot Noir for me. The nose shows cinnamon stick and strawberry, while the palate has underripe strawberry and stem with some sage. Nice finish.
2010 vintage
Taster #1922 · May 6, 2013
92/100
A delight!
2010 vintage