2004 Kennth Volk Vineyards Pinot Noir, Santa Maria, California
Ken Volk was the founder of California's venerable Wild Horse Winery, which he sold a few years ago and in turn bought the former Byron property from Constellation when it sold off various Mondavi holdings. Having been a fan of both at various times in my life, I wondered which of the two this new product would resemble. The answer? Neither.
Purple color. Plummy black fruit with white flowers and a white pepper finish. Medium plus body. Very drinkable now but has some tannins to lose. In spite of that it's a disappointment: there's little here that says 'pinot' or 'California'. Where I immediately said "Russian River" the other night when a friend handed me a glass of wine from the previously unknown to me Failla winery, this wine looked--and tasted--more of Oregon. No cherry fruit, no tomato leaf, nothing here that said Santa Maria. Oh, and just for informational purposes: Parker gave this 90 pts.