We tried last night (1/13/10) Some Pinot Noirs:
1. Dehlinger PinotNoir GoldridgeVnyd/RRV (EB; 14.7%) 2007: Med.color; lovely black cherry/cherry/PN some
pencilly/oak slight smokey classic Dehlinger nose; tart elegant/balanced very spicy/cherry/black cherry/PN
some pencilly/oak flavor; long very spicy cherry/black cherry/PN light pencilly/smokey/oak finish w/
light tannins; a lovely/balanced classic Dehlinger PN. $44.00
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2. Dehlinger PinotNoir Reserve RRV (EB; 14.9%) 2006: Med.color; deeper more black cherry/PN some toasty/
pungent/oak/charred bigger/more complex nose; bit softer big/some tannic deep black cherry/PN some
toasty/pungent/oak flavor; very long bit tannic/hard structured deep black cherry/PN some toasty/pungent/
oak finish; less bright cherry and more bass/black cherry character w/ more tannins & structure and more
toasty/oak character; a big Pinot that needs 2-6 yrs. $57.00
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3. Radio-Coteau LaNeblina SonomaCoast PinotNoir (14.4%; 1688 cs; U/U) 2007: Med.color; bright/zippy spicy/
cherry/PN light earthy very light pencilly/oak lovely/perfumed nose; tart somewhat tannic/structured very
spicy/bright/cherry/PN/cherry cough syrup light pencilly/oak balanced/perfumed flavor; very long rather
tannic/structured bright/spicy/cherry/cherry cough syrup/PN very light/pencilly/oak finish; a lovely spicy/
bright/cherry/PN that needs 2-6 yrs; wonderful aromatics. $45.00
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4. Radio-Coteau SavoyVnyd/AndersonVlly PinotNoir (14.7%; 536 cs; U/U) 2007: Med.dark color; deeper bit closed/
tight strong/black cherry/PN bit more toasty/oak slight earthy/dusty lovely nose; rather tart fairly
tannic/hard/structured bit tight/closed strong black cherry/PN some toasty/oak flavor; very long rather
tannic/hard strong perfumed/black cherry/PN some toasty/oak finish; seems rather tight & closed and needing
some age. $53.00
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5. Drew PinotNoir Fog-Eater AndersonVlly (382 cs; 13.5%; www.DrewWines.com;
60% MonumentTreeVnyd/ 40% HenneburgVnyd) 2008: Med.dark color; earthy/dusty less black cherry/PN fruit some
vanilla/oak rather spicy very attractive nose; softer/lusher strong black cherry/PN/pungent some vanilla/
oak bit tannic/hard flavor; very long bit tannic/hard some vanilla/oak lush/black cherry/PN finish; needs
2-5 yrs of age; rather big & lush for AndersonVlly Pinot. $36.00
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6. Drew PinotNoir ValentiVnyd/MendocinoRidge (362 cs; 13.8%; Clones: 667,114) 2008: Med.light color; deeper/
richer black cherry/PN/spicy some toasty/oak/vanilla bit earthy nose; softer/lush/rich/full-bodied strong
black cherry/PN some toasty/vanilla/oak flavor; long lush/softer some toasty/charred/oak strong black
cherry/PN finish w/ light tannins; needs several yrs; the most drinkable of these first 6 Pinots; lovely
ripe Pinot. $36.00
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7. Peay ScallopShelf Estate PinotNoir SonomaCoast (14.2%; 840 cs; www.PeayVineyards.com) 2007: Light color;
rather Burgundian/toasty/oak slight leathery/horsecollar fragrant/spicy/bright/cherry/PN slight earthy
very perfumed/fragrant/aromatic nose; tart bright cherry/PN/spicy some earthy/Burgundian/toasty/oak bit
tannic/structured very attractive flavor; long bright cherry/PN/spicy light earthy/toasty/oak/Burgundian
bit tannic/structured/hard finish; easily the most Burgundian of these Pinots; loads of bright/spicy
Pinot fruit; needs 4-8 yrs of age. $56.00
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8. FortRoss PinotNoir FortRossVnyd/SonomaCoast (738 cs; www.FortRossVineyard.com; 14%) 2005: Med.color;
rather earthy/dusty/smokey/pungent some licorice/black cherry/PN nose; tart rather earthy/dusty bit simple/
clunky some black cherry/PN light toasty/charred/pungent/oak flavor; med. earthy/dusty some black cherry/PN
bit toasty/charred/oak some tannic finish; not the bright cherry character I'd expect from very cold-
climate Pinot; but simple/clunky/earthy; tastes like a Pinot made by a Pinotage producer. $43.00
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9. Manzoni FamilyEstateVnyd/SantaLuciaHighlands (14.7%; StevePassagni/Winemaker;
www.ManzoniWines.com) 2006: Med.dark color; rather funky/wintergreen/herbal slight black cherry/PN very
ripe/overripe strange nose; soft/flat slight herbal overripe/soupy some toasty/oak slight black cherry/PN
flavor; med.short soft/soupy overripe bit black cherry/PN some toasty/oak finish w/ little tannins;
rather strange Pinot w/ a lot of overripe character and soft/soupy on the palate. $22.00
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10. Sequana SarmentoVnyd/SantaLuciaHighlands PinotNoir (14.8%; Winemaker: JamesMacPhail;
www.SequanaVineyards.com) Sebastapol 2007: Med.light color; very strong burnt/charred/oak/toasty very
slight black cherry/PN little fruit nose; soft rich/lush some black cherry/PN slight herbal very strong
burnt/charred/oak/toasty slight tannic flavor; med. strong charred/pungent/toasty/oak slight black cherry
PN finish w/ light tannins; not a lot of fruit, not much SLH/herbal character and slammed w/ charred/
toasty/oak. $35.00
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11. OjaiVnyd PinotNoir BienNacidoVnyd/SantaMariaVlly (14.0%) 2007: Med.dark color; strong toasty/oak/smokey/
pungent deep/black cherry/PN very fragrant classic Ojai Pinot nose; tart very spicy/black cherry/PN/ripe
bit plummy/earthy some toasty/oak/smokey flavor; very long plummy/ripe/black cherry/PN some toasty/
smokey/oak/pungent finish w/ fair tannins; needs at least 2 yrs of age and should go out 10; a classic
Ojai BienNacido Pinot at a great price. $37.00
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12. JosephSwanVnyds NorthernSonoma PinotNoir (EB; TW) 1984: Med.light color w/ slight bricking; some smokey/
pungent/toasty/oak/pencilly/cedary slight sauerkraut rather earthy/dusty some Burgundian old Calif red some
perfumed/fragrant fairly complex nose; soft/smooth elegant/complex rather pencilly/cedary/oak light earthy/
Burgundian slight dried out/tannic flavor; long cedary/pencilly/oak/complex slighht black cherry/PN/earthy/
Burgundian some dried out/tannic finish; very attractive/complex nose but a bit dried out/tannic on the
palate; holding on for life but barely; still a pleasure to drink.
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And the usual made-up stuff from the BloodyPulpit:
1. Dehlinger: Two more Pinot winners from TomDehlinger. I actually preferred to GoldRidge for its
brighter/spicy character and more classic Dehlinger PN character; These both should easily go out
10 yrs, maybe longer.
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2. Radio-Coteau: EricSussman used to be asst winemaker at Dehlinger. Their similarities in style speak
of that background. I typically find the R-C Pinots somewhat less oaked and a bit more spicy/perfumed
in character. I particularly like Eric's Syrahs as some of the best Calif Syrahs made in a more
elegant style....a Syrah that speaks of a Pinot producer. And his vonWeidlich Zin are some of the best
Calif Zins being made these days. Alas, the '07 is his last one. I very much hope he can line up another
old-vine Zin vnyd to work with; he's a master of that grape.
Of these two Pinots, I somewhat preferred the Neblina for its more perfumed/forward character. The
Savoy seem rather tight & closed and needing a yr or two of age to really show well.
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3. Drew: I've followed Jason & Molly Drew's wines from the very start..down in SantaBarbaraCnty. I loved
their wines, but thought they were a bit lost in the noise down there w/ some many outstanding producers.
So when they pulled up stakes and returned to their home turf in te AndersonVlly, I was very excited as I
felt they would stand out more in that crowd. There are a fair number of Pinot producers in the Anderson
Vlly and I think they are has good as any Pinots coming from there these days. But it's their Syrahs
that excite me the most and where I think they can demonstrate that the AndersonVlly has as great a
Syrah vnyd as any in Calif.
They also make an Albarino that is as good as any from Calif I've yet had. What I would really like
to see them try is Zinfandel. There's an abundance of very good Zin vnyds, both on MendocinoRidge and
down in the UkiahVlly. It would be knockout Zin I suspect.
I badly need to make a visit w/ them in their new digs up there. Maybe in March.
Tom