Corkdork Round-Up of Pinot Days 2007 Favorites & Surprises
I'm going to leave the in-depth play-by-play coverage to Alder at Vinography, and instead, do my best to give you what I felt were the highlights of a really good show. Yes, this one is a good show. It's small, focused, and manageable. When I first decided to cover this tasting, my first thought was to list my favorites by region but once I got there and was instantly comparing an Anderson Valley Pinot to one from Santa Lucia, all bets were off. That approach simply didn't make sense. So instead, I'm just calling out three categories. Overall Favorites, Affordable Treats, and Surprises (I always make a point to look under the rocks and see what I can find).
Overall Favorites:
Calera Wine Company
1998 Mt. Harlan Selleck $60 - still available and drinking very beautifully
2004 Mt. Harlan Ryan $40 - youthful but complex and elegant. Put this one down a few years for a treat.
Chasseur Wines
2005 Freestone Station $60 - Ripe but balanced. Winning pinot.
Dutton-Goldfield Winery
2005 Sanchietti Vineyard Green Valley Russian River $58
George Wine Company
2005 Nuptial Vineyard Russian River Valley $50 - lighter style but packed with explosive flavors
Hamel
2005 Sonoma Coast, Campbell Ranch, Anapolis
Hirsch Vineyard and Winery
2005 Hirsch Vineyards, Sonoma Coast $60 - explosive and round without being over-extracted.
Inman Family Wines - Kathleen Inman has to be one of the nicest winemakers there!
2004 Olivet Grange Vineyard - Russian River $42
Le Cadeau Vineyards
2004 Diversité, Le Cadeau Vineyard, Willamette Valley $45
Louis Latour
2005 Beaune Vignes Franches, Beaune 1er Cru $49
Michaud Vineyard - treated us to a small vertical 2001-2004
2003 Chalone Appellation $38
Native 9 Wine
2004 Rancho Ontiveros Vineyards - Santa Maria Valley - Great.
Papapietro Perry Winery
2005 Russian River Valley $42
Peay Vineyards
2005 Pomarium Estate - Sonoma Coast $50 - refined and delicious
Siduri Wines
2005 Van der Kamp Vineyard $42
Affordable Treats
Dutton-Goldfield Winery
2005 Dutton Ranch$35
Per Bacco Cellars
2005 Laetitia Vineyard - Arroyo Grande Valley $32
Scherrer Winery
2004 Sonoma County $30 A delicious expression of fruit. Let's hope Fred can keep this affordable.
Surprises
Clary Ranch Wines
2004 Clary Ranch Grower's Reserve Sonoma Coast $50
Clos Saron
1999 Home Vineyard Sierra Foothills - I didn't know anyone could make this fine a pinot in the Foothills
Harmonique
2004 Delicacé Anderson Valley - Round and uncommonly huge for Anderson Valley. Watch out for this.
Sojourn Cellars
2005 Sangiacomo Vineyard - Sonoma Coast $48
Thorne Wine This is also a terrific value and great first effort!
2005 Thorne Pinot Noir Rio Vista Vineyard - Santa Rita Hills - $28
Le Clos Jordanne
2005 Pinot Noir (Reserve), Claystone Terrace, Niagara Peninsula DVA, Ontario, Canada - Who knew?