The WineI have selected several Tudor Pinot Noirs for our wine club members over the years. The first one was back in 2005 when I had just started "the Sideways Wine Club" as a licensee for Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Dan Tudor’s wines are considered rich among Pinots, as is typical of Santa Lucia Highlands. Look for a core of ripe fruit balanced by pencil lead graphite and cedar. The area's extended growing season allows for long hang time/full phenolic ripeness without high sugars – total alcohol is just 13.5% - making this wine a welcome dinner companion with a wide range of foods.
About 1,300 cases produced, I got the last three of them!
'93 Points' A. Galloni, Vinous Media
The Winery
Tudor wines was started by two cousins, Dan and Christian Tudor, whose families grew grapes and lavendar on the Croatian island of Hvar for centuries. In the 1920's, their grandfathers moved to California and started growing table grapes at companies that Dan and Christian worked at as kids. Dan's other cousin is Louis Lucas, a famous winemaker in Santa Barbara County, and under his guidance, Dan started making wine in the 1982, and dabbled at it for years.
In 1997 the two cousins established relationships with growers in Santa Lucia Highlands and started the Tudor label, which continues to this day despite the challenges of smoke taint (they choose not to bottle any wine on years when grapes are impacted by smoke taint) and oppressive industry regulations!
