by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

 

New California Pinot Noir
Tasted last week some new Calif Pinots:
Willamette Valley Vineyards Oregon Pinot Noir Whole Cluster (13.0%) '98: Med.color; bright forward cherry/ soda pop/CarbonicMaceration/Beaujolais-like nose; tart bright fresh cherry/soda pop some CM/simple fruity flavor; med.short CM/cherry/bright/soda pop finish w/ little tannins; nice OR cherry fruit but lots of Beaujolais character.
Willamette Valley Vineyards Oregon Pinot Noir (12.5%) '97: Med.light color; deeper/earthy some light/ toasty/oak black cherry some complex nose; tart some toasty/pencilly/Fr.oak bit lean/ austere black cherry/cherry flavor; med.short tart/lean/bit thin dusty/earthy/black cherry some toasty/oaked finish w/ some tannins; rather hard & lean Pinot.
Stephen Ross Edna Valley Pinot Noir Edna Ranch (13.8%) '96: Med.color; some toasty/ pencilly/ Fr.oaked bit earthy/ dusty slight funky/ charred/pungent light black cherry nose; tart bit metallic lean low/black cherry/fruit some toasty/pencilly/oaked charred/pungent interesting flavor; med.long tart bit metallic/hard some toasty/charred/oaked light black cherry/fruit finish w/ light tannins; nice toasty oakiness but a bit shy on the fruit.
Stephen Ross Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vnyd (13.7%) '96: Med.dark color; rather strong/ charred/pungent/smokey rather plummy/black cherry nose; softer/richer ripe/plummy/black cherry/BN fruit rather toasty/charred/pungent/Fr.oaked bit funky/earthy flavor; long pungent/toasty/charred/oaked/smokey black cherry/plummy/BN finish w/ some tannins; a classic BN Pinot w/ ample toasty/oak.
Flint Central Coast Pinot Noir (13.2%) '97: Med.light color; light earthy slight herbal some toasty/ Fr.oak bit funky/grapey/other grape nose; tart slight cherry/Pinot Noir bit dishwater/funky/earthy light toasty/oaked flavor; med.short bit funky/earthy/herbal slight cherry/Pinot Noir finish w/ little tannins; a bit on the strange side and tastes of something other than Pinot.
Flint Central Coast Pinot Noir Old Vines (13.5%) '97: Med.color; some bright cherry/Pinot Noir some toasty/ charred/smokey/Fr.oak bit earthy/dusty/complex nose; tart some black cherry/Pinot Noir bit funky/ earthy some toasty/charred/Fr.oaked dusty flavor; med.long tart earthy/funky/dusty some black cherry/Pinot Noir some charred/toasty/Fr.oak finish w/ light tannins; a bit like some of the Caleras; a rather interesting Pinot but just that.
Dehlinger Russian River Vlly Pinot Noir Estate (14.5%) '97: Med.dark color; lovely/complex very spicy Fr.oaked/pencilly very floral/cherry/black cherry loads of fruit slight cough syrup/complex nose; rich/ripe/balanced very spicy/floral/cherry/black cherry some pencilly/toasty/Fr.oak balanced/complex young flavor; very long floral/lilacs/violets cherry/black cherry/very spicy/complex some toasty/pencilly/Fr.oaked finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; a really lovely/fragrant/floral Pinot.
David Bruce Santa Cruz Mtns Pinot Noir (13.5%; Estate + 3 other vnyds) '97: Dark color; strong toasty/ smokey/pungent/oaked slight volatile bit licorice/black cherry/earthy complex nose; fairly big/extracted some tannic earthy/dusty/pungent/black cherry some toasty/charred/oaked bit low fruit flavor; med.long pungent/licorice/earthy/dusty light black cherry/low fruit rather pungent/toasty/oaked finish w/ some tannins; bit low in fruit but should be much nicer in a few yrs.
Foxen Santa Maria Vlly Pinot Noir (13%) '97: Rather light color; rather pungent/bit burnt rubber/funky some toasty/Fr.oaked/smokey some spicy/cherry/Pinot Noir light floral nose; light/elegant/bright cherry/spicy rather pencilly/smokey/Fr.oaked slight funky/earthy flavor; med. elegant/racy pencilly/Fr.oaked some bright/cherry/Pinot Noir/spicy/floral finish w/ light tannins; rather light & elegant for Foxen but nicely-made/drinkable/interesting Pinot.
Foxen Santa Maria Vlly Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vnyd (14%) '97: Med.light color; lovely/complex pencilly/Fr.oak bit dusty rather classic/BN/plummy/black cherry nose; soft/forward/bright/ black cherry/plummy/spicy some pencilly/toasty/Fr.oaked bit dusty flavor; very long bright/ ripe/plummy/black cherry/BN some toasty/pencilly/Fr.oak finish w/ some tannins; needs a few yrs; a lovely/oaked classic BN Pinot.
Foxen Santa Ynez Vlly Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vnyd (14%) '97: Med.dark color; deep/earthy/dusty ripe/black cherry rather strong smokey/pungent/toasty/Fr.oak some complex nose; rather hard/ tannic/dusty some black cherry strong toasty/charred/pungent/smokey/Fr.oak flavor; very long dusty/earthy/tannic some black cherry/Pinot Noir strong toasty/charred/Fr,oak finish w/ ample tannins; less forward fruit & more tannins & structure than the BN; needs 2-5 yrs.
Byron Estate Santa Maria Vlly Pinot Noir Byron Estate Vnyd (13.6%) '96: Med.dark color; light spicy/ cinammon/cloves rather pencilly/Fr.oak/toasty little fruit bit simple nose; soft bit dilute some pencilly/toasty/Fr.oak spicy/cinnamon little fruit flavor; med.long soft fairly strong pencilly/toasty/oaked some spicy/cinammon/cloves low fruit finish w/ light tannins; a pleasant rather soft/dilute/simple nice $20 Pinot. Way overpriced at $40.00
Williams-Selyem Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir Coast Lands Vnyd (15.2%) '97: Med.color; some spicy/cinammon/ Fr.oak floral/black cherry very attractive nose; tart very spicy some tannic spicy/cinammon/ Fr.oaked/pencilly lovely black cherry/Pinot Noir flavor; long very/spicy/cinammon/floral/black cherry/ Pinot Noir some toasty/Fr.oaked finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; a very good very tasty Pinot Noir but rather overpriced.
Williams-Selyem Russian River Vlly Pinot Noir River Block Vnyd (14.0%) '97: Med.dark color; rather earthy/mushroomy toasty/pencilly/Fr.oaked light black cherry/Pinot Noir some complex nose; soft spicy/floral/dusty more black cherry/Pinot Noir rather toasty/smokey/Fr.oak flavor; long ripe/ black cherry/Pinot Noir/spicy/floral rather toasty/pencilly/Fr.oaked finish w/ ligt tannins; needs yr or two; very attractive Pinot more on elegant side for W-S.
Williams-Selyem Russian River Vlly Pinot Noir Allen Vnyd (13.8%) '97: Med.light color; strong toasty/ pungent/Fr.oaked some spicy/floral/black cherry/plummy aromatic nose; soft fairly lush/ black cherry/Pinot Noir/spicy/floral strong toasty/pungent/smokey/Fr.oak some dusty/mushroomy flavor; very long/lingering toasty/pungent/Fr.oak lush/black cherry/Pinot Noir/spicy/floral some mushroomy/dusty finish w/ light tannins; needs yr or two; a bit bigger & lusher than the RiverBlock. $60.00
Domaine Chandon de Brialles Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru '90: Med.color w/ bit browning; rather roasted/smokey/charred bit earthy/gamey coffee some complex no fruit slightly tired nose; soft rather thin/tired rather roasted/smokey/toasty/charred coffee/earthy light floral/cherry flavor; med. very smokey/toasty/charred/roasted earthy/coffee weak cherry finish w/ some tannins; interesting w/ lots of smokey/roasted character but a bit thin and tired.

And a wee bit of a bloody pulpit:
FoxenVnyds: The early Foxen wines were not quite my cup of tea; they were pretty big & extracted and loaded w/ toasty Fr.oak, so much so that varietal character was sort of obliterated. The last few yrs, Dick Walthen has has shown more restraint in his winemaking and the wines, though still pretty big, are backed off on the oak and much more balanced and, to me, interesting. The recent Vioognier '98 (alas, now sold out) is one of the best Calif Viogniers I've had. A wnry that's had a real up-tick in quality of late and one whose wines I always try.
Williams-Selyem: I've always lked the W-S Pinots. They have a unique spicy/floral character that I like a lot. These '97's were no exception; I liked these wines a lot. They didn't seem as big & extracted as previous vintages. Fortunately, I'm not on their mailing list so don't buy these wines for myself.