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Starmont Carneros Pinot Noir 2014
RedUnited States2014
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2020-10-18 · Published 2026-09-30 · Updated 2026-09-30
At a glance
In one line
3.0/5 — lower than Vivino's 3.8 average · world avg price US$27 · Pinot Noir from the Merryvale family's Starmont, rooted in Carneros's Stanly Ranch, first planted in 1872.
Wine-Searcher aggregate of 2 critic reviews: 88. Vivino lists critic scores of 88 (added Dec 2016) and 86 (added Dec 2017), publications not named. The Wine Enthusiast note on Wine-Searcher says it over-delivers for its price, citing smoky cherry and plum and a savoury finish of forest and tea.
Market note: World average US$27 / 750ml (Wine-Searcher, ex-tax, Sep 2026). One Canadian seller lists the 2014 at US$30.19 (tax incl.) and one US seller at US$74.99 (ex-tax). From the same house, Carneros Chardonnay is US$20 (89) and Carneros Merlot US$25 (88).
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notesFather left only the stars on this one — 3.0
And that my answer that night was only half wrong.
Thursday. Master Seo spread a white napkin on the counter and set my glass on it. Tonight, he said, tell me the colour before the nose. Tilt the glass over the napkin — start from the rim.
I tilted it. The centre was a clear ruby, but toward the rim the red drained away and a pale brown crept in. Much lighter than yesterday's glass. On the nose, cherry and strawberry, a little cola and earth. Light and gentle. Looking at that brown edge against the napkin, the second bottle I'd saved from yesterday opened.
Twenty-two, the third Sunday night of October. After the empty-glass lesson, Dad opened the second bottle on the table. He poured it into a fresh glass and set it in front of me, then poured one more sip of the first bottle into the empty glass from before and stood it alongside. Then he took a white plate from the kitchen cupboard and propped it up behind the two glasses. Colour first, he said. One was deep ruby; the other was already brown at the rim. I pointed at the brown one and asked, this one's older, isn't it? Dad tilted his head and only smiled, without answering. The nose was faint too. Strawberry and cranberry. None of the clove from before. I don't know the name of the bottle.
I read the second line for the date I'd opened yesterday. A California Pinot that isn't very deep, he wrote. Compared side by side with red Burgundy, the aromas and palate weren't deep, but for simply giving a Pinot feel, it seemed better than the usual California Pinot. And the last line: though a young vintage, its colour is strongly brownish. Three stars. The bottle was Starmont Pinot Noir 2014. I stuck on the wine-name Post-it. It was born just one year before the first bottle. That's probably why Dad tilted his head. Only a year apart, and one of them had aged first.
Minjae said bottles left standing under the store lights for a long time change colour faster, so the good ones get laid down on the bottom shelf. Master Seo said colour doesn't only tell you age.
After closing, I folded the napkin away and opened the new notebook to page thirty-seven. This time I filled in the colour column before the scent column: 'ruby centre, brown rim, a white plate.' What I learned today: some bottles speak with their colour first. And that my answer that night was only half wrong.
What this wine is
The Starmont name first appeared on a label in 1989, at Merryvale Vineyards in St. Helena in the Napa Valley. For some fifteen years afterwards the two brands shared the same St. Helena building (Profile Wine Group, Winedering).
Independence came with land. In 2005 the Schlatter family, Merryvale's owners, bought two parcels on Stanly Ranch in Carneros. Stanly Ranch was first planted to vines in 1872, making it one of California's old vineyard sites. The family built an environmentally minded winery there that opened in 2006, and the Stanly Ranch Estate Vineyard has held Napa Green certification since 2007. Starting from a single Chardonnay, Starmont grew into Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and rosé. In 2019 the Carneros winery building was sold and production moved back to Merryvale.
Carneros sits at the southern end of Napa and Sonoma, cooled by wind and fog coming up off San Pablo Bay — which is why it is known for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The label on the bottle Dad photographed carries only a red 'S' crest above the words 'Carneros Pinot Noir'.
What the world says
The two critic reviews gathered on Wine-Searcher aggregate to 88. Vivino lists critic scores of 88 (Dec 2016) and 86 (Dec 2017). The Wine Enthusiast note shown on Wine-Searcher says it over-delivers for the price, with smoky cherry and plum, toasted oak, and a finish of tea and forest.
On Vivino the 2014 averages 3.8 from 432 ratings: 34 fives, 208 fours, 163 threes, 22 twos and 5 ones. The label as a whole also averages 3.8, from 2,393 ratings, and vintages stay between 3.7 and 4.0. Suggested drinking window: 2016–2024.
"Dusty on the nose red cherries… austere and elegant burgundian style." — Vivino review, Dec 2021, 4 stars
Red fruit leads the keywords at 273 mentions (cherry 80, strawberry 68), followed by oak at 155 (oak 60, vanilla 35, cola 18) and earth and leather at 115. Structure: acidity 3.5, intensity 3.0, tannin 2.1 — light.
The world average price is US$27 / 750ml (Wine-Searcher, ex-tax, Sep 2026).
How I drank it
October 18, 2020, 3 stars. That day I tasted it side by side with Lucien Le Moine's Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots 2015 (4.5). On Vivino it's logged as the same house's 'Rosé of Pinot Noir 2014', but the label in my photo is the Carneros Pinot Noir and the note is about a red. So the figures in this piece are for the Pinot Noir 2014. The rosé entry averages 3.9 from 70 ratings.
My note said: a California Pinot that isn't very deep. Tasted against red Burgundy, the aromas and palate weren't deep, but for simply giving a Pinot feel it seemed better than the usual California Pinot. Though a young vintage, the colour is strongly brownish. For aromas I left just two words: strawberry and cranberry.
My three stars sit below the community's 3.8 probably because the very next glass was a Burgundy premier cru. The idea I'd written two days earlier about Belle Glos (3.5) — that California Pinot walks a different road — I confirmed again that night with two glasses. Still, of the California Pinots, Starmont stood a little closer to the Burgundy side of the road.
Vivino community data
2014 vintage rating distribution (432 ratings, average 3.8)
| 5★ | 34 (8%) | |
| 4★ | 208 (48%) | |
| 3★ | 163 (38%) | |
| 2★ | 22 (5%) | |
| 1★ | 5 (1%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Red fruit | 273 | cherry 80 · strawberry 68 · red fruit 44 · raspberry 28 · cranberry 13 |
| Oak | 155 | oak 60 · vanilla 35 · cola 18 · tobacco 8 · chocolate 6 |
| Earth & leather | 115 | earthy 40 · leather 28 · smoke 12 · mushroom 8 · forest floor 5 |
| Black fruit | 58 | plum 19 · black cherry 12 · blackberry 6 · blueberry 5 · dark fruit 5 |
| Spice | 34 | pepper 14 · cinnamon 6 · savory 5 · licorice 2 · mint 2 |
Structure: Acidity 3.5/5 · Intensity 3.0/5 · Tannin 2.1/5 · Sweetness 1.5/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 2393 ratings, average 3.8)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 4.2 | 46 |
| 2012 | 3.8 | 291 |
| 2013 | 3.8 | 521 |
| 2014 | 3.8 | 432 |
| 2015 | 4 | 127 |
| 2016 | 3.9 | 268 |
| 2017 | 3.7 | 192 |
| 2018 | 3.8 | 244 |
| 2020 | 3.8 | 72 |
| 2021 | 3.9 | 37 |
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Starmont Pinot Noir?
A red made from Carneros Pinot Noir by Starmont, run by the Schlatter family of Merryvale Vineyards in Napa. The 2014 averages 3.8 on Vivino (432 ratings) with a Wine-Searcher critic aggregate of 88.
How much does it cost?
Wine-Searcher's world average is US$27 per 750ml (ex-tax, Sep 2026). The 2014 is listed by a Canadian seller at US$30.19 (tax incl.) and a US seller at US$74.99 (ex-tax).
What food goes with it?
The Vivino community suggests veal, pork, poultry and mushroom dishes. Reviewers mention aged Gouda and pork dishes as good matches.
If a young Pinot Noir is brown at the rim, has it gone bad?
Not necessarily. Pinot Noir has little pigment, so its colour fades from the rim and takes on a brick tint easily. But heat and light in storage speed up the change, so check the nose as well — whether it has turned vinegary or like stewed fruit.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- Profile Wine Group — Starmont Winery and Vineyards
- Winedering — Starmont Winery
- Wine-Searcher — 2014 Starmont Pinot Noir
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