It may seem as if every winery does Pinot, but Corral Wine Co. shows there are differences.

There are many reasons why Pinot Noir has earned favored varietal status. Despite its weak will on the vine, despite the many – over 1,000 – clones, not all of which are bottle worthy, there is a finesse to the wine that can bring expression to terroir even a few dozen yards apart.

For example, the 2021 Pinot Noir by Corral Wine Co. plucked from one part of the Santa Lucia Highlands yields a pleasant and expected profile – fresh fruits wrapped by a faint bittersweet zest and whispers of dusty spice. Corral’s 2021 Estate Pinot Noir, hand-harvested from the Bell Ranch Vineyard near Corral de Tierra, is something different.

Coy on the nose, it wants only to reveal gentle notions of red cherry and ripened berries. But there is a darker notion covered by this friendly yet distant greeting which becomes evident when the wine is sipped. Released from its aromatic blanket, the wine becomes more evocative – rich, with black cherries, pomegranate and berries set to juice. The flavors are dense, but in a smooth balance, tended by an earthy tug of clove. And it’s still a young wine, one with the promise of becoming even more engaging.

Winemaker Adrien Valenzuela produced this beauty from two of the preferred clones, 115 and 777. He gave it a spell of open-top fermentation and rested the wine in French oak, 25-percent new. There is a plush, rose petal mouthfeel that belies the more reserved bouquet. It’s an interesting Pinot, and one to hold onto.

CORRAL WINE CO., 19 E. Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley. 298-7646, corralwine.com.