2021 Center of Effort Pinot Noir estate spotlight
Nathan Carlson at Center of Effort in Edna Valley. Winemaker on the estate, 2022.
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this 2021 Center of Effort Edna Valley Pinot Noir across the open market. Their published U.S. low is $23.81 and the average is $39.68. Our slash is $40.00.
2021 Center of Effort Edna Valley Pinot Noir
Nathan Carlson and Kevin Bargetto. Estate Pinot from one of Edna Valley's oldest vineyards. Wine Enthusiast 95. Twenty-six on two or more.
The label reads EFFORT. The wine is 100 percent Pinot Noir from the estate in Edna Valley, first planted in 1978. Seven percent whole cluster. Nineteen months, 49 percent new French oak. Wine Enthusiast scored it 95. Two or more are $26 a bottle. A single bottle is $40.
Edna Valley estate Pinot. Wine Enthusiast 95.
Bill Swanson ran Raytheon, then retired to Edna Valley in 2008 and said winemaking is like building an aircraft. Nathan Carlson came up through Tolosa. Vinous has Center of Effort in the upper tier of San Luis Obispo wineries, a 50-acre site among the valley's oldest. Jeb Dunnuck: they specialize in Pinot Noir, moderate whole cluster, mostly French oak. Wine Enthusiast 95 on this 2021. Two or more are $26.
One hundred percent estate Pinot and Chardonnay from the southern foothills of Edna Valley. The vineyard is among the oldest in the AVA, first planted in the late 1970s. Bill Swanson named the house after an engineering and sailing term: equal tension on both sides of the sail. Nathan Carlson has farmed this fruit since 2008.
The house
Nathan Carlson and Kevin Bargetto. Center of Effort estate, Edna Valley.
The wine
100% Pinot Noir. 63% heritage selections, 37% Dijon. 7% whole cluster. 14.5%.
The score
Wine Enthusiast 95. Raspberry, pomegranate, loamy earth, wild mint.
The table
Salmon, mushroom risotto, a Tuesday duck.
95 points, Wine Enthusiast
Named critics only. No shop names. No aggregate score in the corner.
Raspberry and mint. Then the earth.
Ripe raspberry on the nose, brambly berries across the palate. Savory grip, vibrant acidity, a finish that keeps pulling you back. Wine Enthusiast: clean, fresh, snappy red fruit, light herbs, long texture. Not a sweet commercial Pinot. Serve a little cool.
19 months in 49% new French oak. 14.5% alcohol.
Raspberry, pomegranate, loamy earth, wild mint. Snappy red fruit, light herbs, long-lasting texture.
Ripe raspberry on the nose, brambly berries across the palate. Savory grip, vibrant acidity, a finish that keeps pulling you back. Wine Enthusiast: clean, fresh, snappy red fruit, light herbs, long texture. Not a sweet commercial Pinot. Serve a little cool.
Serve near 62 F for reds, colder for whites. A short decant if the note asks for air.
Nathan Carlson and Kevin Bargetto
Estate fruit, Edna Valley. Clones are 63 percent heritage selections and 37 percent Dijon. Seven percent whole cluster. Nineteen months in French oak, 49 percent new. 14.5 percent alcohol. Nathan Carlson and Kevin Bargetto.
2021 Center of Effort Pinot Noir
Center of Effort is an Edna Valley house on a vineyard first planted in 1978. Founder Bill Swanson came from aerospace. The Pinot program is the point of the estate. This 2021 is the entry bottling, labeled EFFORT, vintage 2021 on the glass.
2195 Corbett Canyon Road, Arroyo Grande. The tasting room looks at the Santa Lucia range. SIP certified. Cool-climate Edna Valley, minutes from the Pacific.
What to put on the table
Food only. No bottles on the plate.
Reds near 62 F in a proper glass. Whites colder. A 20 to 40 minute decant when the tannins ask for it.
Gordon Ramsay cooks salmon. A cooking video for the pairing, not a winery film.
Cedar-plank salmon
Red fruit Pinot and a clean piece of fish.
View Recipe for Crispy-skin salmon (opens in a new tab)
Mushroom risotto
Loamy earth in the glass. Mushrooms on the spoon.
View Recipe for Mushroom risotto (opens in a new tab)Wine Enthusiast 95. Estate Edna Valley Pinot. $26 when you take two.
Nathan Carlson and Kevin Bargetto. Estate Pinot from one of Edna Valley's oldest vineyards. Wine Enthusiast 95. Twenty-six on two or more.
Two or more are $26 each. A single bottle is $40. Twelve bottles ship free.
