Pinot Noir
Sonoma County, 2008
In 2008 I decided to offer
a Pinot Noir that offered quality at even lower
prices than my vineyard designates. The ’08
Sonoma County Pinot is a blend of barrels selected
from the Sangiacomo and Van der Kamp vineyards.
It has a higher percentage
of new oak compared to single bottling from these
two sources. Why? I had a couple of barrels that
were just too
damned aggressive to include in the single-vineyard
bottlings, so I moved them into the Sonoma County
blend, thus continuing the
stylistic trend that began with the 2004 vintage
(Translation: too much oak? Yer outta here!!!)
I cannot abide over-oaked Pinots. Luckily,
the Sonoma County blend is settling down with the
oak integrated seamlessly with vibrant fruit. I
think I’ll keep doing
this!
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here for full winemaking and tasting notes. |
SOLD OUT
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Pinot Noir
Marin County,
2008
Ruby color; bouquet of spice,
with sour and red cherry aromas. Pronounced earthiness.
The fruit-driven
entry opens into a silk-textured mid-palate that
ends with a seamless and long
finish. This wine is made for aging. That’s how I roll.
One of the Top Pinots of the
Year
An impressive 2008, this wine shows fascinating
herbal tension
and drive
in its wild berry flavors. Its complexity runs
on scents of sage, porcini, rose and mineral
earthiness (if any smoke affected the wine,
it reads here as a cured meat character rather
than ash). The wine's refined herbal grip will
match mushroom ravioli in a sage sauce. 93
points
Wine & Spirits Magazine
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here for full winemaking and tasting notes.
|
$29 per bottle
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Pinot Noir,
Sangiacomo Vineyard
Sonoma Coast, 2008
The grapes are from the Roberts
Road vineyard in the ridiculously cool Petaluma
Gap, where coastal fog is de rigueur. It pleases
me no end to receive Pinot Noir from the Sangiacomo
family. They are longtime farmers in Sonoma County,
whose grapes I first worked with at Joseph Phelps
Vineyards. This wine will entice you with its
subtlety. It’s not a flashy “look
at me!” Pinot. Rather, it will reveal itself
slowly, bit by bit. Be patient and you‘ll
be rewarded.
Ruby color; pronounced spice
bouquet with sour cherry/earthy aromas and a
fruit-driven
entry that gives way to firm, acidic mid-palate
and lengthy, balanced finish. This wine will
evolve in your glass. I used French oak barrels
and kept down the amount of new oak deliberately.
Zero Medium-plus toast
(Heavy toast? Uh, no). I make Pinot Noir for
the long haul; my wines are meant for aging.
191 cases produced.
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here for full winemaking and tasting notes.
|
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Pinot Noir,
Van der Kamp Vineyard
Sonoma Mountain, 2007
The vineyard is located on Sonoma
Mountain in Sonoma County, California at 1200 foot
elevation. Martin, Dixie and Ulysses Van der Kamp
are true stewards of the land and have the oldest
plantings of Pinot
Noir in the County. Ulysses says, “…it’s
easy to grow Pinot Noir if you’re willing
to work eleven to twelve hours every day." He
and his father Martin continue to refine their artistry
of leaf and canopy management to
produce magnificent grapes.
Ruby color; pronounced spice
bouquet with sour cherry/earth aromas. Fruit-driven
entry
that gives way to firm, acidic mid-palate and lengthy,
balanced finish. This wine will evolve in your
glass. My Van der
Kamp Pinots will age for years when properly cellared.
One of the Top Pinots
of the Year
This wine veils its mountain
intensity behind a light, transparent color,
delicate tart cherry and strawberry scents and
earthy spice. Fully mature but not old, it sustains
freshness in its fruit to show better a day after
being opened, adding a hint of barnyard to the
flavor complexity. A pinot noir with finesse,
to match veal schnitzel. 92 points
Wine & Spirits
Magazine
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here for full winemaking and tasting notes. |
$45 per bottle
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