Laetitia is a producer of a wide variety of wines in the Arroyo Grande Valley in California’s Arroyo Grande Valley, near San Luis Obispo. We tasted through three of the winery’s newly released Pinots, its flagship bottlings. Thoughts follow.

2010 Laetitia Pinot Noir Arroyo Grande Valley La Colline – Heavily cherry-infused, feathered with fresh tea leaf, allspice, and cola. Brisk and fruity body, with a slightly sweet finish. Lots going on here, but it all comes together in a lively and quite unique package. A / $60

2011 Laetitia Pinot Noir Arroyo Grande Valley Reserve du Domaine – Immediately minty on the nose, with a strong, tart, cherry body. Slightly bitter on the finish, but maybe that will settle down with a bit more time, and the wine will open up. For now, it’s somewhat closed off. Try it in 2015. B+ / $40

2010 Laetitia Pinot Noir Arroyo Grande Valley Les Galets – A dense and not entirely Pinot-like wine, with big plums, blueberries, and touches of smoke and leather. This wine has more in common with a big Syrah than it does the typical, fruit-driven Pinot. That doesn’t make it bad, but it is unexpected. B+ / $60

laetitiawine.com

2011 Laetitia Pinot Noir Arroyo Grande Valley Reserve du Domaine

$40

8.5

Rating

8.5/10