We tasted tonight (8/7/19) some More PinotNoirs:
1. Siduri PinotNoir HirschVnyd/SonomaCoast (14.1%) 2009: Med.color w/ some browning; light earthy bit cherry/
black cherry/PN light Siduri oak bit tired nose; fairly tart/tangy light cherry/PN bit metallic/tangy
rather tired flavor w/ light astringent/dried out tannins; pretty much dead & gone. $40.50
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2. Siduri PinotNoir HirschVnyd/SonomaCoast (14.1%) 2010: Med.color w/ light bricking; stronger black cherry/
PN some pencilly/Siduri oak bit complex nose; fairly tart/tangy/metallic rather tired/dried-out light
earthy/black cherry/PN some Siduri/pencilly/oak flavor w/ light dried-out/astringent tannins; bit more
interesting nose but pretty tired on the palate; dead & gone. $39.50
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3. Boheme PinotNoir EnglishHillVnyd/SebastopolHills/SonomaCoast (13.7%; Y=1.22 tons/acre; Clones: Dijon
115&667/Vosne-Romanee/Calera; 22 mo. in 15% new Fr.oak; www.BohemeWines.com) KurtBeitler/Occidental
2015: Med.dark color; strong fragrant cherry/black cherry/PN/bit spicy some pencilly/toasty/Fr.oak
high-toned quite lovely nose; lightly tart bright/perfumed cherry/PN/spicy light pencilly/toasty/Fr.oak
bit metallic flavor w/ modest bitey tannins; very long/lingering bright/cherry/PN/spicy finish w/ light
brisk tannins; lots of bright cherry/PN/high-toned fruit; can use another 2-4 yrs; quite a pretty PN.
$43.50
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4. Boheme PinotNoir StullerVnyd/SonomaCoast (13.5%; Clones: Dijon 115 & 667; Y=0.41 tons/acre; 22 mo. in 17%
new Fr.oak) 2015: Dark color; more earthy/dusty deeper less fragrant some black cherry/PN bit closed more
bass-notes light pencilly/oak bit complex nose; fairly tart/tangy/metallic some black cherry/licorice/PN
bit earthy/dusty some toasty/oak flavor w/ modest chewey tannins; very long deep black cherry/PN/licorice
bit earthy/dusty finish w/ some chewey tannins; not as perfumed & fragrant w/ more depth & bass notes;
bigger & richer but seems a bit closed now; bit more earthier & Burgundian; needs more age. $43.50
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5. Boheme PinotNoir TaylorRidgeVnyd/SonomaCoast (13.7%; Y=0.65 tons/acre; 22 mo. in 15% new Fr.oak) 2015:
Dark color; strong black cherry/PN/cherry/spicy light pencilly/Fr.oak bit complex nose; quite tart/tangy/
bit metallic light pencilly/oak/bit licorice bit complex flavor w/ modest brisk tannins; very long/lingering
black cherry/cherry/PN/spicy light pencilly/oak finish w/ modest tannins; needs 3-5 yrs of age yet;
shows more of the perfume of the EnglishHill; quite a lovely PN. $43.50
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6. WindGap PinotNoir SonomaCoast/SonomaCnty (12.4%; stem inclusion/concrete frmtn; 68 brls/22500 cs)
2015: Med.dark color; some dusty/earthy some blackcherry/PN/spicy distinct w-c/peppery rather complex nose;
fairly tart/tangy strong w-c/peppery strong black cherry/PN/spicy rather earthy/dusty some complex flavor w/
ample tangy tannins; very long rather earthy/dusty some black cherry/PN/spicy strong w-c/peppery finish;
not that much fruit & dominated by the w-c character; quite an interesting rendition of PN. $36.00
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6a. WindGap PinotNoir WoodruffVnyd/SantaCruzMtns (12 3/4 %; 7 brls/168 cs; #0604) 2013: Med.color; slight
earthy/dusty some w-c/peppery/bit stemmy some black pepper/PN/black cherry/spicy light toasty/oak some complex
nose; somewhat tart/tangy light w-c/peppery/stemmy/earthy/dusty light black cherry/PN/spicy flavor w/ modest
tangy tannins; very long some black cherry/PN/earthy strong w-c/peppery/stemmy light toasty/oak bit complex
finish w/ some tannins; a bit more black cherry/PN fruit but still dominated by the w-c character;
another interesting PN.
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7. Drew PinotNoir EstateFieldSlctns MendoRidge/MendoCnty (13.3%; InaguralRelease) 2014: Very dark color; very
strong black cherry/licorice/PN some toasty/oak light w-c/peppery bit complex nose; lightly tart/tangy strong
black cherry/PN/bit licorice/spicy some toasty/oak some w-c/peppery fairly rich/lush structured flavor w/
ample rich/ripe tannins; very long/lingering quite tart very strong black cherry/PN/licorice structured
some toasty/oak finish w/ ample tannins; a lovely rather structured PN that should go out another 8-10 yrs.
$60.00
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8. Drew PinotNoir Estate/TheGulch MendoRidge (13.3%; 33% whole cluster; Drk: 2018-2030) Elk 2014: Very dark color;
much the same nose but a bit more fragrant PN/fruit/cherry quite lovely some complex nose; quite tart/tangy
stronger black cherry/PN some w-c/peppery/DrPepper/RCCola quite structured bit more complex flavor w/ ample
ripe tannins; very long/lingering quite tart some toasty/oak some w-c/peppery bit more complex structured
finish w/ ample tannins; much like #7 but a bit more complex, more bright fruit, bit more depth; a beautiful
structured Pinot w/ yrs to go. $51.00
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9. Drew PinotNoir EstateFieldSlctns/MendoRidge (13.8%; 40% w-c; 35% new Fr.oak; Clones:
Pommard/943/115/Swan/667/MtEden/Calera; Drk: 2019-2028: JD) 2015: Very dark color; very strong black cherry/
blackberry/PN/very spcy/bit peppery some pencilly/smokey/oak bit RCCola some w-c/peppery some complex nose;
rather tart/tangy strong black cherry/PN/very spicy some RCCola some pencilly/oak bit complex flavor w/
ample tangy tannins; very long/lingering rather tart some pencilly/oak very strong black cherry/PN/very spicy
some complex finish w/ ample tannins; another very structured PN w/ lots of spiciness and good complexity;
has yrs to go. $60.00
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10. Drew PinotNoir Estate Field Slctns/MendoRidge (13%; 20% new Fr.oak; 40% whole-cluster; Drk: 2020-2033: JD)
2016: Very dark color; very strong black cherry/PN/spicy light pencilly/oak/smokey bit more pungent/licorice
bit simpler beautiful fragrant nose; fairly tart strong black cherry/PN bit w-c/peppery fairly structured
some pencilly/oak flavor w/ some chewey tannins; very long strong black cherry/PN some pencilly/oak finish
w/ ample chewey tannins; a bit simpler than #11 but still a bracing structured Pinot w/ yrs ahead of it.
$60.00
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11. Drew PinotNoir Estate Mid-Slope MendoRidge (13%; certified organic; Yield: 1 ton/acre; 18 mo. in 1/2/3
yr old seasoned Fr.oak; Calera/Swan/Dijon 943 clones; Drk: 2019-2030: JD) Elk 2016: Very dark color; more
fragrant/perfumey very strong black cherry/black cherry cola more bright cherry/AndersonVlly-like slight
pungent/welding shop/reductive more charred/oak more complex very fragrant beautiful nose; bit tarter/tangier
more charred/oak very strong black cherry/black cherry/cola/bright cherry quite structured rather complex
flavor w/ modest chewey tannins; very long/lingering very strong black cherry/cherry/black cherry cola some
toasty/charred/oak structured complex finish w/ some firm tannins; a bit more fragrant w/ bright cherry fruit
than #10 & a bit more complexity; anothe beautiful structured PN w/ yrs to go. $59.50
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12. Drew PinotNoir EstateFieldSlctns/MondocinoRidge (13.5%) 2017: Dark color; strong black cherry/PN light
w-c/peppery light pencilly/oak/toasty bit tight/closed nose; rather tart/tangy/bit metallic strong
black cherry/PN light toasty/oak some w-c/peppery bit closed flavor w/ ample tangy tannins; very long strong
black cherry/PN/bit spicy some w-c/peppery some toasty/oak rather structured finish w/ ample tannins;
not the perfume & fragrance of the previous ones and seems a bit tight/closed right now & needs more age;
will be a good one in a few yrs and should go out 10 yrs. $51.00
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More pritzadle from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Boheme: This is the wnry of KurtBeitler, nephew of the Wagner/Caymus family. His tasting room is in the
heart of downtown metropolitan Occidental. Specializes in SonomaCoast Pinot/Chard/Syrah plus a bit of Zin.
Followed him from the very start, I did. Back when he was making only QueSyrah Syrah. Coinsistently one
of my favorite producers.
These wines pretty much were true to form. The EnglishHill, a bit warmer to the SE of Freestone, typically
is a bit lighter and more perfumed. The Stuller, to the west of Occidental, is generally a bigger/deeper PN
and needs more age. The TaylorRidge, farmed by VinceRago, usually falls somewhare in the middle. Stylistically,
the wines are very similar and I typically prefer the TaylorRidge, but only slightly.
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2. WindGap: These were made when PaxMahle was still at WindGap. They were both very unusual renditions of PN.
They were both dominated by the w-c character and I would have liked a bit more PN fruit.
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3. Drew: When Molly & Jason moved to the AndersonVlly from SantaBarbara in 2000, their style changed dramatically
and the focus became on crafting cool-climate wines from the AndersonVlly and MendoRidge. The purchased an old
apple orchard just east of the town of Elk up on MendoRidge. After building their wnry in 2004, they finally
planted the property to PinotNoir. They often make two different Pinots from their Estate. With their first
Estate Pinot in 2014; this should be a pretty complete tasting of all their Estate Pinots thus far.
I've always liked Jason's Pinots, mostly from AndersonVlly fruit, from when he first moved up there. Even
though he's one of the darlings of the IPoB crowd, I've never thought really a part of that style of Pinot. Even
though the alcohols are relatively modest by some Pinot standards, I've always felt they were packed w/ flavor.
Of these DrewEstate Pinots, the #9 and the #11 were probably my favorite, but only by a slight margin.
This was my first extensive tasting of the DrewEstate Pinots, only having 1 or 2 of them when they've come
in on my club shipment. To say the least, I was mightly impressed with this set of Pinots. They have a depth &
structure & intensity of fruit not often found in Calif Pinots. I would assert that this vnyd is of the stature
of other Calif cold-climate Pinot vnyds I particularly like...Hirsch and Failla and Swan, maybe Flowers and
Pisoni, some from the SantaRitaHills. As this vnyd matures & gets older; the Pinots are only going to become
more impressive I think.
Tom