|
| |
CALIFORNIA PINOT NOIRS
Having its home in both Burgundy and Champagne, Pinot Noir
has been in California for many years, probably since the late 1800s. It is a fussy
and finicky grape variety, prone to genetic changes which means there are many
"clones" of Pinot Noir.
The grape tends to produce wines which have much less color than Cabernet or Zinfandel,
for example. I have seen, in many tastings, wines which are color-poor, but,
curiously, have the most intense fragrance. Tasters are frequently swayed by
the color and appearance of a wine and cannot credit a weakly colored wine with having
more intensity to its "nose" than deeper colored/less fragrant wines.
Years
ago, it was not uncommon for California winemakers to "fortify" their Pinot
Noirs with something such as Petite Sirah. The wines had great color and, perhaps, a
bit more body and tannin, but the peppery Petite Sirah detracted or overwhelmed the subtle
and delicate cherry-like Pinot Noir fruit.
Curiously, in France's Burgundy, it was
said vintners or negociants routinely beefed up their wines with some deeper red from the
south of France (or Algeria!). A Burgundy house was recently
discovered to have been selling wines illegally blended with stronger red wine
from outside the appellation. The temptation is great to make beefier
wines.
I am certain some local vintners still adulterate (or enhance, depending upon
one's perspective) their Pinot Noirs with darker varieties. One prominent
winery owner chided me for even asking such a question, though he would not declare
that his wines were 100% Pinot Noir!
It seems that Pinot Noir varies according to clone, soil, exposure, climate and
we haven't even discussed vinification. Some producers will tell you the juice
should be kept at a cold temperature (which inhibits fermentation) and macerated on the
skins for a week before fermentation is initiated. Other winemakers say this is a
recipe for disaster. Some winemakers claim to ferment with the stems, while others
say this is not the way to make good Pinot Noir.
As you can understand, controversy abounds!
The
aromas of Pinot Noir vary as a result of so many of the factors enumerated above. We
prefer to find bright fruit aromas, reminiscent of cherry or strawberry. We like a
bit of vanillin from the oak. Some Pinots have a gamey quality to them. In his
book entitled "BURGUNDY" by Anthony Hanson, this expert writes "Great
Burgundy smells of shit. It is most surprising, but something the French recognized
long ago, Ça sent la merde and Ça sent le purin being common
expressions on the Côte. Not always, of course; but frequently there is a
smell of decaying matter, vegetable or animal, about them. This is nothing
new." Uh, well, we prefer the cherry and berry notes, thank you!
Years ago it was felt that California was too hot for Pinot Noir. Oregon enjoyed
some notoriety as experts wrangled over which area was producing the best West Coast
Pinots. An east coast tasting, written about in the New York Times (some years ago,
now) said the favored wines were Oregon and Burgundy when tasted with the labels exposed.
When the wines were poured for a blind-tasting, California won.
Today's wine critics are having an impact on Pinot Noir production. Since
the dynamics of most blind tastings (and tastings that are not
"blind") is to find the biggest and most intense wines, Pinot Noirs of
elegance and refinement are marked down as thin and light, while wines with
Syrah colors and Cabernet tannins are now often garnering high scores.
Pinot Noir winemakers are, it seems, interested in picking Pinot Noir as ripe as
possible. One vintner told me the trend is to harvest the fruit when it's
close to 16 to 18 percent "potential alcohol." Then water is
added to the juice and the fermentation ensues. I am not sure what
benefits are obtained by picking at this high level of sugar, but it seems to be
popular amongst the young winemaking crowd.
The high ratings encourages consumers to buy these sorts of wines and it encourages
winemakers to produce this style of Pinot. We have noticed the
alcohol levels of Pinot Noir are often pushing 14% to 15%, sometimes even
more! We have had some Pinots which were made from such over-ripe fruit,
the wines resemble late-picked Zinfandel. One even has scored in the
mid-90s from a prominent critic despite the wine having little in common with
Pinot Noir.
Anyone who claims to be a Pinot aficionado and who tastes California wines such as
Etude, Patz & Hall, Harrington and Dehlinger, and who puts down these wines, simply doesn't understand
the subject. I think you might even add the Siduri and Au Bon Climat and
The Ojai Vineyard labels
to this list.
SOME PINOTS WE LIKE:
- ALMA ROSA
Richard
Sanford is one of the pioneers in Santa Barbara County wine history.
He teamed with a fellow named Michael Benedict back in the 1970s and planted
vineyards in the region that's today known as "Santa Rita
Hills." The pair started a winery called Sanford & Benedict,
which later morphed into the Sanford Winery. I don't know what became
of Benedict, but Sanford ran his own place for many years. In
2005 he and his wife were fired by the import and wine distribution company
which invested in the Sanford Winery.
We understand there were major disagreements concerning Sanford's insistence
upon organic farming. His steadfastness to this ideal did not,
apparently, sit well with the Terlato/Paterno folks.
Sanford now has launched a new brand called Alma Rosa. We had their
first two Pinot Noirs in a blind-tasting and the wines finished 1st and
2nd! I especially liked the La Encantada Vineyard bottling and we have
that in the shop.
This wine shows nice cherry fruit and a hint of tobacco. It's a
medium-bodied Pinot and identifiable as such. You won't mistake this
for a Syrah, for example. Sanford uses screw cap closures for his
wines, saying he's "tired" of corked bottles. This is a
lovely wine for drinking tonight.
Currently in stock: 2004 ALMA ROSA "Santa Rita
Hills" La Encantada Vineyard SALE
$39.99
-
AMBULLNEO
This vintner
is probably the poster child of the huge, muscular, over-the-top California
Pinot Noir. If not the poster child, then one of the leaders in
this sort of wine.
-
- The name comes from a new breed of dog combining the American Bulldog and
the Neapolitan Mastiff. This canine is said to be muscular yet
graceful and this may give tasters an insight into the wines of proprietor
Greg Linn and winemaker Scott Ames.
Aside from making full-throttle, pedal-to-the-metal wines, the philosophy is
to produce wines from several vineyards. I can easily understand this
notion, finding (sometimes) a single vineyard bottling may have a nice
feature, but it may not be "complete." I recall tasting
Nebbiolo wines with a Barolo winemaker and finding one vineyard especially
aromatic and elegant, but light. Another was powerful and intense, but
a bit out of balance. I wondered why they didn't blend them to make a
more complex (and balanced) wine, but the fashion for small lots and high
prices for rare bottles sometimes directs wine production.
Linn asks "What if it was possible to combine La Tâche, Musigny and Chambertin?
Just imagine the results!" So, Ambullneo blends its Pinots,
seeking to find greatness and complexity.
Though the wines are too much and "over the top" for some Pinot
fans, when we've had them in blind-tastings, Ambullneo has fared well on my
scorecard! In fact, Ellen, Bob and I each had this as our first place
wine in a line-up of Pinots in mid-2006.
The pricing of the Ambullneo wines is ambitious, though the 2004
"Bulldog Reserve" is worthy of the "best of show" award
in some circles. I found the wine to display cherry and Asian spice
notes, along with tones of hickory and clove spice. The wine is big
and will show well with "Cabernet cuisine."
The "Canis Major" also won one of our blind-tastings of Pinot
Noirs in an impressive fashion. The wine is quite complex and there
are elements on the nose which remind one of Burgundy: forest floor
fragrances, cherry notes, hints of vanillin and toasty oak, etc. The
wine is rather robust on the palate, but it's not as big as a Cabernet or
Syrah, for example. It manages to hang on to the theme of Pinot
Noir. Very showy!
The 2004 Canis Major incorporates wine from Napa's Carneros region as well
as the Ambullneo "home base" of Santa Barbara.
The 2005s, in a recent blind-tasting, were a bit less showy. Stay
tuned...
- Currently in stock: 2004 AMBULLNEO "Bulldog Reserve"
PINOT NOIR Sale Price $69.99
2004 AMBULLNEO "Canis Major" PINOT NOIR (list
$95) SALE $84.99
-
ACACIA WINERY
Back
in the Dark Ages, Mike Richmond worked at a little winery in the Napa Valley
called Freemark Abbey. They made Riesling, Chardonnay, Petite Sirah
and Cabernet. Mike jumped ship and in the late 1970s launched a new
boat called "Acacia."
- This little enterprise featured Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the
Carneros region. Anybody who was "somebody" had to
have Acacia wines in their shop or on their wine list.
They made some good wines, producing basic bottlings as well as
single vineyard offerings. Less than ten years later, the winery was
purchased by the Chalone Wine Group and Mike was then shipped over to
another winery, a Sonoma Valley estate called Carmenet. Acacia, a few
years later, was swallowed up by the big drinks giant, Diageo. That's
where it remains today. Mike departed a long time ago, not fitting in
well with "corporate" bean counters who did not understand a
damned thing about wine. (He today manages Bouchaine winery, a
neighbor of Acacia.)
Though many brands in the Diageo empire seem to be made with an
eye on marketing-driven winemaking, the wines in the Acacia portfolio remain
good quality and capable of appealing to the seasoned wine-drinker.
They make a number of high-priced, single vineyard wines.
With the economic resources of Diageo, they can pay high prices for Pinot
Noir and play around with relatively small production bottlings. In
tasting these, I can't say I'd pay the hefty prices for these limited
bottlings. We can order them for you, but we stock only their basic
Carneros Pinot.
The 2006 Carneros Pinot Noir displays medium garnet color and a
lovely strawberry/cherry fragrance on the nose. The wine is dry,
fairly supple on the palate and an easy-to-drink red wine. It's a
nice, chillable red, showing a whiff of wood along with nice Pinot Noir
fruit. We expect this to be at its best in its youth, but it might be interesting
to stash a bottle of this to see how it tastes when it's 5 to 8 years old.
-
- Currently in stock: 2006 ACACIA Carneros PINOT NOIR (winery
Price $28) SALE PRICE $19.99
-
-
ANCIEN WINES
Winemaker
Ken Bernards spent a number of years at Domaine Chandon studying both Pinot
Noir and Chardonnay. Following that, he was the winemaker for Truchard
in Carneros. Now he and Mrs. Bernards have their own label,
Ancien. Ken also consults for a few other brands, Destino and Whitford
being two we know of.
He's quite passionate about his winemaking and it shows in the wines he
turns out. There was a huge write-up in the local paper about his
obsession with Pinot Noir, telling the story of his trip to Burgundy to
harvest and bring back grapes picked in some vineyard in Morey-Saint-Denis!
The Toyon Pinot is comprised of a clone of Pinot attributed to the late,
great Pinot Noir winemaker, Joe Swan. The other clone is is a Dijon
clone, #115. Ken says this French clone contributes notes of cola,
violets and spice, while the Swan clone offers blackberry, black cherry and
a hint of cocoa.
The 2006 is currently in the shop. We appreciate the finesse of this wine. It's unmistakably
Pinot Noir and it's not a wine "on steroids" (which seem to be
especially popular with The Critics). If you enjoy being able to drink
more than one glass of a supple, elegant Pinot, check out a bottle of this!
- Currently in stock: 2006 Carneros Pinot Noir SALE
$29.99
- AU BON CLIMAT
Jim Clendenen is "The Mind Behind", as
opposed to winemaker/vigneron/padron, of Au Bon Climat.
Monsieur C is a
controversial fellow and one who has been quite studious in his vineyard and cellar
works. He is a very opinionated fellow, so he's interesting to listen to. (If
you meet him, don't be surprised if you can't get a word in edgewise...this is
normal.) We appreciate that many of his wines exhibit the character of a winemaker
who marches to the beat of a different drum. That said, his wines are very appealing to a
certain segment of the market. Other tasters find the wines not at all interesting
and Jim's not out to conquer the world--only a small part of it.
Our current selection comes from a vineyard adjacent to the winery...it's a medium-bodied
Pinot with hints of blueberry and plum. Quite drinkable now, this is best served at
cool cellar temp.
Another excellent wine is Clendenen's "Santa Maria" blend of Pinots from
Talley's "Rincon" vineyard and the old Maison Deutz property, now called
"Laetitia."
Jim also has another project called Ici/La-Bas. I believe he's got some
partners in this project. The emphasis has been on Pinot Noir,
although I did taste a Chardonnay of this brand. Their 2001 Pinot Noir
from Mendocino County fruit is rather nice, having the cherry notes and a
bit of sweet oak we like in Pinot Noir. The fruit is from the rather
cool Anderson Valley. Elke Vineyard.
-
- Currently available: 1998 Au Bon Climat
Laetitia & Rincon Pinot Noir $39.99
2002 Ici/La-Bas Anderson Valley Pinot Noir SALE
$23.99
-
ARISTA
This
was a new discovery for us. A fellow who used to be a pilot in the
military before working for some eye care production firm was bitten by the
wine bug and then employed by Jess Jackson (Baron of the Kendall Jackson
wine empire) working with grape growers. John Copeland then got
together with his brother-in-law, Dr. Al McWilliams, a prominent Texas
orthodontist, to start this new little venture producing some dynamite Pinot
Noirs.
They initially purchased a vineyard near Cloverdale in northern Sonoma
County. This past year the acquired 36 acres in the Russian River
Valley.
The winemaker for the project is Daniel Moore, former Gewürztraminer-meister
under the "Z Moore" label in a previous lifetime. Daniel
also is a partner with Jeff Morgan making SoloRosa rosé wine and a
delicious Napa Cabernet called Covenant. He's quite passionate about
Pinot Noir and the first vintage of the Arista wines shows he's on the right
track.
The initial releases are delicious, forward, cherryish Pinots with
complimentary levels of oak.
The winery raised its prices quite dramatically and we missed a vintage of
their wine. We're pleased to note they've adjusted the pricing to more
sensible levels and we have a 2006 "Longbow" bottling in stock.
The Longbow is a blend of several Russian River Valley vineyards. The
Arista style features maturation in particularly toasty French oak barrels,
which gives the cherryish fruit a nice vanillin tone. Easily
identifiable as Pinot Noir, too. You won't mistake this for a Syrah or
Cabernet!
-
- Currently in stock:
2006 "Longbow" Russian River PINOT NOIR $44.99
-
BADGE
The Badge
label may be new to the Santa Barbara wine scene, but the winemaker is an
"old timer." If he were wearing a badge, winemaker
Bruno d'Alfonso would have a squad of deputies.
D'Alfonso had been the winemaker at the Sanford Winery from 1983 until he
was put on parole in 2005 by the corporate (and new) owner, the Terlato wine
gang. Bruno had his own label, producing Italian varietals under
the Di Bruno banner.
We have a 2004 Pinot from the Santa Rita Hills. It's a blend of two
vineyards within the Santa Rita appellation, the Gaia Vineyard and Ampelos.
Eventually his own vineyard will bear fruit and he'll be making wine at his
own facility instead of renting space at the Fess Parker winery.
The 2004 Pinot is a medium-bodied wine and it's not one of those
over-the-top, Syrah-like bottlings. You can discern this is
Pinot Noir, not Cabernet. I was more pleased by this than
were Ellen or Bob, who both found the wine to be "good," but not
"exciting." Still, it's worth a look.
-
- Currently in stock: 2004 BADGE "Santa Rita Hills" Pinot
Noir Sale $33.99
-
-
- BELLE GLOS
Maybe
you're a fan of Caymus Cabernets and have wondered what Caymus Pinot
Noir would taste like.
Well, I can tell you Caymus used to make Pinot Noir from Rutherford-grown
fruit many years ago. They even made a Pinot Noir Blanc called
"Eye of the Partridge." What fruit they didn't use
themselves was sold off to Inglenook. Nobody paid much attention to
Pinot back then. Pinot Noir grown in Rutherford! Never mind that
the fruit had short hang time and ripened quickly...all people paid
attention to was "Brix" (a measure of the sugar content of the
grapes).
Chuck Wagner must have never gotten rid of the "bug" to make Pinot
Noir. He has about 150 acres in Santa Maria, just north of Santa
Barbara. He's also working on a Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
"project."
The Pinot Noir appears not under his Caymus or Mer Soleil labels, but as
"Belle Glos." This is named after Chuck's Mom, Lorna Belle
Glos-Wagner. One of her grandfathers was a grape grower who had a
vineyard on Howell Mountain, while the other was a winemaker at Inglenook in
the early 1900's! She's still living on the Caymus property.
The early releases were okay, but seem to lack a bit of polish and
brightness. I suspect they're on a learning curve and will soon need
to decide how much cellar treatment is needed for their wines. We
tasted the 2004s a couple of times. They are decidedly more palatable
on their own and not alongside a flight of other Pinot Noirs in a blind
tasting.
We've had requests for the new releases from 2006 and so a few bottles are
available, apparently, tightly allocated by the distributor and/or, the
winery.
- Currently in stock: 2006 Belle Glos "Clark & Telephone" Pinot
Noir $49.99
2006 Belle Glos "Las Alturas" Pinot Noir $56.99
-
-
ONE THOUSAND ONE
Hard
to believe Kent Ramussen is now an "old timer" in the wine
business, but he is!
Kent planted Pinot Noir in the Carneros region back in the late 1970s and
started making wine in the mid-1980s. He and Mrs. Rasmussen have a
second label using her maiden name, Ramsay.
Now they've launched another label, this "One Thousand One" project
which features, at the moment, three North Coast Pinot Noirs. Of the
three, I found the Mendocino bottling to be the most typical and
interesting.
The wine comes from fruit grown in Mendocino's Potter Valley. Kent
points out the temperature swing from the warm days to the downright cold nights
is what contributes to the success of Pinot Noir in this appellation.
"There's a 50 degree swing. This
is what grapes crave to develop top flavor and quality….warm sunny days and
cold nights."
I find a nice cherry fruit on the nose and a hint of a rose petal character to
the finish of the wine on the palate. It's rather nice served lightly
cooled to cellar temp. The wine is smooth and bright and dangerously easy
to drink. I've described it as being a Pinot Noir with a hint of Gewürztraminer.
Nice wine.
- Currently
in stock: 2006 ONE THOUSAND ONE Mendocino PINOT NOIR $19.99
-
-
BOGLE (!)
The Bogle
label is not one we've generally considered to be anything special.
Their wines typically taste a bit weak to me. That's most likely
because they're farming in the Sacramento Delta and doing so with an eye on
making value-priced wines. Chenin Blanc, with a bit of residual sugar,
tends to be the most interesting wine as the hint of sweetness "fills
in" the middle palate of the wine.
We were pleasantly surprised to taste a rather good example of Pinot Noir
from Bogle, despite the fact that the winery is located a short drive from
Sacramento and Davis. Their "secret" is in
making the wine from grapes they've "imported" from Sonoma
County! Ah ha!!!
Here's a gentle, smooth, medium-light bodied Pinot Noir from Russian River
Valley fruit. It's got typical Pinot character and at its modest
price, is well worth checking out! Bogle doesn't make wines for
cellaring, so plan on enjoying this over the next year, or so.
Currently in stock: 2005 BOGLE "Russian River"
PINOT NOIR (list $15) SALE $11.99
CARREFOUR VINEYARDS
I was a bit
apprehensive in seeing a Napa Valley vintner with the name of a huge French
"Costco"-like store as its brand name.
I wondered it the Carrefour stores in France had opened a winery here in
California.
Happily, no.
Carrefour is the name chosen by the husband and wife team of Greg and
Marilyn Nitz, owners of a small vineyard at a crossroad (that's what
Carrefour means in French) in southern Napa Valley. After years of
selling fruit to Rombauer and Duckhorn, the Nitz's pick and vinify some of
their own.
But their vineyard is too warm for Pinot Noir, so they purchase fruit from
the Truchards in the cooler Carneros region.
We were delighted with Carrefour's 2004 and the 2005 is a delightful
successor. What we like about these Pinots is that they smell and
taste like Pinot Noir. You won't mistake them for Syrah or
Zinfandel.
The fruit comes from two vineyard sites. One is a mix of Dijon,
Pommard and Swan clones. The other site is planted exclusively with
the Martini clone of Pinot Noir. Though it's been matured in a high
percentage of new French oak barrels, wood is not the focus here. The
wine offers a delightful cherry pie-sort of fragrance and those elements
shine nicely on the palate. It's a light-bodied red wine with fine
aromatics and an element of delicacy on the palate. That's why we like
it! It doesn't remind us of anything but Pinot Noir.
- Currently in stock: 2005 CARREFOUR Carneros PINOT NOIR $28.99
-
-
-
CLOS TITA
The Clos Tita label
is one of those little, almost-a-hobby sort of wineries. It's the
passion of Dr. David Estrada, who's a dentist in "real life."
When he's not pruning vines, crushing grapes or topping up barrels, the man
is pulling teeth! I suppose that's a good training ground for someone
attempting to make good Pinot Noir, since it, too, is a bit like
"pulling teeth."
Clos Tita is located in the zip code of Scotts Valley and the vineyard, all
of about an acre, was planted in 1990. They're at an elevation of
about 900 feet and Estrada has four clones of Pinot Noir.
I've tasted the wines over the years and they're usually nice and a bit
particular. After a recent blind-tasting, I was finally sufficiently
pleased by a Clos Tita wine to actually buy some (not that they make much
wine from a one acre vineyard...).
The 2004 vintage strikes me as a nice combination of California and
Burgundy. On one hand, it's got an elevated level of alcohol and
you'll be wise to fasten your seat belt when putting a bottle of this on the
dinner table.
On the other hand, the fragrance reminds me SO much of some
Nuits-Saint-Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin wines.
That said, I can tell you this is not a universally-appealing Pinot
Noir. There's an herbal tone to this wine which is what I personally
like best about it. I'm certain not every Pinot fan will find this to
his or her liking. But if it strikes a chord with you, the wine is
remarkable. I understand the Doc incorporated a drop of Viognier and a
dollop of Chardonnay in this wine.
-
- Currently in stock: CLOS TITA 2004 Santa Cruz Mtns. Estate PINOT
NOIR $35.99
-
HARRINGTON
You know Bryan Harrington is a fanatic! The guy has been working in
a San Francisco watering hole and/or a restaurant as his "day"
job. But the guy also has a viticulture "project" in The
City. He's go something like five dozen Pinot Noir vines he tends in
two different sites. One is Bernal Heights and the other on Potrero
Hill.
I don't know if he makes any wine from these vines, but we do have a couple
of delicious Pinots that he made in a small facility in
Berkeley. Bryan and Sasha Verhage (Eno Wines) bought the old Grape Leaf
Cellars.
- What we've liked of this fellow's wines is that they taste like Pinot Noir
and they nicely reflect the vineyards from which they come. We've now
had close to a handful of vintages of Harrington's wines and we're thrilled
to taste such elegant and refined wines. So many winemakers seek
numerical point scores and so they work to make beefy, big
wines.
Harrington's typically have finesse, something many California Pinots
lack.
Currently in stock are two delicious 2006s.
The 2006 "Iund Vineyard" comes from the Carneros region.
This is a four or five barrel production that's beautifully balanced and
very drinkable. Lots of cherry notes and a touch of oak make for a
lovely bottle of wine.
A bit more brooding and still needing some time is Harrington's 2006 "Brousseau"
vineyard wine from the Chalone appellation in Monterey County. You can
really taste the minerally, almost stony notes from the limestone-rich
soils. We expect this wine will start to blossom next Spring or
Summer...
-
Currently in stock: Harrington 2006 Carneros "Iund Vineyard" Pinot
Noir $39.99
Harrington 2006 Chalone "Brosseau" Pinot Noir $49.99
-
-
MAHONEY VINEYARDS
Frank
Mahoney (I've known him since people called him "Frank," though
today you'll be required to address his honor as "Monsieur Francis
Mahoney) got bit by the wine bug ages ago. He had been affiliated with
a nice wine store in San Francisco called "Connoisseur Imports"
and he got a taste of the best wines of those days from France and
Germany.
In the early 1970s he established a vineyard in Napa's Carneros region
and was one of the early producers of Pinot Noir from that area. He
also dabbled in Amador Zinfandel, as we recall. Only Louis Martini and
BV's Andre Tchelistcheff had really been exploring this old cattle ranching
area as a possible vineyard site. Mahoney planted dozens of clones of
Pinot Noir and is one of the most knowledgeable practitioners of the art
these days.
The brand name was Carneros Creek and it was the "cool"
Pinot Noir everyone "had to have" in the mid-1970s.

The fact that today nobody under 35 years of age, who drinks wine, knows
this brand ought to be a lesson to those young vintners who are today a
"hot commodity."
Mahoney sold the brand a few years ago and today he makes wine which
bears his own name.
We had tasted a rather nice white wine made by Mahoney, a wine made from
the Vermentino grape. Having been featuring that wine in the shop, we
had a taste of Mahoney's Pinot Noir and have been pleased with it as a good
value and nice wine.
It's a 2005 vintage wine and comes from the Mahoney Ranch and the
Las Brisas Vineyard. It's not a stand-in for California Syrah, so you
won't find deep and dark color to the wine, nor will you find huge
tannins. In fact, it's delightfully drinkable now. We like the
mild cherry fruit and there's a faint suggestion of oak to this wine.
It's best served at cool cellar temp.
-
- Currently in stock: 2005 MAHONEY Carneros PINOT NOIR $21.99
-
PATZ & HALL
The
Patz & Hall story began in the mid-1980s when Donald Patz was a
marketing guy at Flora Springs and James Hall was assistant winemaker
there. The two eventually went their separate ways, but were pals who
decided a collaborative effort would be a challenge.
Add to the mix, Anne Moses (she turns water into wine) and Heather Patz (the
glue that holds the place together) and you have a couple of dynamic duos.
They've been making really fine Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays for well more
than a decade. They bottle some regional wines, along with a number of
single vineyard offerings.
Impressively, the wines have been consistently good. I don't know if
they're attentive in the vineyard and cellar or if they sell off wine in
bulk which doesn't make the cut. But what they choose to put their
label on has been reliably fine.
We have two Pinots in stock presently.
The 2006 Sonoma Coast is a delightful wine. It's from a number of
famous-named vineyards...Dutton, Martinelli, etc. Lots of nice cherry and
berry notes with some brown spice tones such as nutmeg, clove and
cinnamon. The wine is smooth, supple and easy to drink. It's
best at cool cellar temp, of course. Probably best in its youth, too.
Bigger and deeper is the Pisoni Vineyard bottling from Monterey County's
wild & crazy Gary Pisoni. It's got sweet cherry fruit and a nice
vanillin fragrance and flavor.
Currently in stock: 2006 PATZ & HALL Sonoma Coast PINOT
NOIR SALE $39.99
2005 PATZ & HALL Santa Lucia Highlands
"PISONI" PINOT NOIR $79.99
MARGUERITE RYAN CELLARS
Marguerite
Ryan, known as "Peggy" to her friends, graduated from law school but
then enrolled in the University of Warren Winiarski.
That "school" has many noteworthy graduates, including Paul Hobbs,
John Kongsgaard and Michael Silacci. Add Peggy Ryan to the
list.
She came to California in the early 1990s and enrolled in some enology
classes. Ryan landed a job at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars doing lab
work.
The Ryan Cellars label was born in 1996 and it's grown from a mere 70 cases of
wine to several hundred. Knowing she tries to make balanced and refined
wines, I suppose Mr. Winiarski influence has had a major impact on her
winemaking philosophies.
The Ryan Cellars label encompasses Pinot Noirs from several top, famed vineyard
sources. Peay Vineyard in the Sonoma Coast appellation is one.
Another is the famed Pisoni Vineyard, along with other Santa Lucia Highlands
sites. There's also Pinot Noir from a vineyard in Napa's Wild Horse Valley
(where Winiarski used to source Riesling, once upon a time).
Ryan Cellars 2004 Pisoni Vineyard Pinot caught our attention. It's a
tad lighter than most Pisoni Pinots, offering the typical dark cherry notes and
a nice touch of sweet oak. Ryan prefers French oak from the famous François
Frères cooperage which we enjoy for its vanillin tones. The wine is
delicious right now and may develop a bit further with additional bottle
aging.
The 2004 Peay came and went quickly...the local distributor found a couple of
boxes which had been spoken for and were never actually shipped to the intended
customer...so we have a few bottles of two vintages in the store presently.
- Currently in stock: 2003 RYAN CELLARS "Sonoma Coast"
Peay Vineyards Pinot Noir $47.99
2004 RYAN CELLARS "Sonoma Coast" Peay Vineyards $47.99
2005 RYAN CELLARS "Garys' Vineyard" $51.99
- MORE PINOT
NOIRS
|