2011 Pinot on the River: Sonoma Pinot Noir and More
Town Square, Healdsburg, California
Tasted Sunday, October 23, 2011 by rjonwine@gmail.com with 1,791 views
Introduction
This eighth annual edition of Pinot on the River was a very fun event, with lots of great wines. Most of the producers come from Sonoma County, but Santa Cruz Mountain Pinot was the focus of the event's morning seminar. The location and weather proved ideal for the grand tasting portion of the event this year, with cool, sunny skies on the square in Healdsburg. I tasted a total of 147 wines from 65 producers, which was nearly everything on hand, including 91 from the supple and generally delicious 2009 vintage (and 17 from the, so far, underwhelming 2010 vintage).
Ten winemakers/owners, representing 11 producers, were on hand for the morning seminar devoted to Pinot Noir from the Santa Cruz Mountains. Unfortunately the temperature at that hour of the morning in the outdoor location where the tasting was held was not ideal for tasting, as it was really too cold, hovering around 58 degrees, for the wines to be fully expressive. It was great to hear from the winemakers, however, especially regarding the challenges of growing wine in the relatively cool SCM climate. For more on that seminar, see below.
My average score for the day was 89.27 points, which is a high score for me on a large-scale tasting of this kind. I was very familiar with most of the producers, which include many that I taste and visit on a regular basis, but there were a few that were new to me: Bluxome Street, Bruliam, St. Rose and VML.
Pinots rated 89 points and higher below were very good and enjoyable. The very top producers at this tasting, for me, responsible for one or more wines I rated 92 points or higher, were Balletto, Benovia, Big Basin, Keefer Ranch, Littorai, Mount Eden, Small Vines, Sojourn and Windy Oaks. The following are the wines I rated 92 points or higher:
2009 Balletto Vineyards Pinot Noir Winery Block - 92 points
2009 Balletto Vineyards Pinot Noir BCD - 92 points
2009 Benovia Pinot Noir Cohn Vineyard - 92 points
2009 Benovia Pinot Noir Bella Una - 93 points
2009 Benovia Pinot Noir La Pommeraie - 93 points
2009 Big Basin Vineyards Pinot Noir Alfaro Family Vineyards - 92 points
2008 Big Basin Vineyards Pinot Noir Alfaro Family Vineyards - 92+ points
2009 Keefer Ranch Pinot Noir Keefer Ranch Vineyard - 92 points
2009 Littorai Pinot Noir Savoy Vineyard - 92 points
2009 Littorai Pinot Noir Hirsch Vineyard - 92+ points
2008 Mount Eden Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate - 92+ points
2009 Small Vines Wines Pinot Noir Russian River - 92+ points
2009 Small Vines Wines Pinot Noir MK Vineyard - 93+ points
2009 Small Vines Wines Pinot Noir Baranoff Vineyard - 93 points
2009 Sojourn Pinot Noir Rodgers Creek Vineyard Sonoma Coast - 93 points
2009 Sojourn Pinot Noir Gap's Crown Vineyard Sonoma Coast - 92+ points
2008 Windy Oaks Estate Pinot Noir Proprietor's Reserve Schultze Family Vineyard - 92 points
For the complete tasting notes, and additional comments on particular producers, see below.
Flight 1 - Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir Morning Seminar (11 Notes)
from left, Jeffrey Patterson of Mount Eden, Jim Schultze of Windy Oaks, Bradley Brown of Big Basin, and Prudy Foxx, President of the Santa Cruz Mountains Viticulture Association
As mentioned above, at 10 am when this seminar started, it was too chilly for these wines to show properly. My tasting notes for this seminar are really based on not only what I was able to get out of the icy glass, warming it as best I could, but also deciphering the wine underneath the ice, based on my prior experiences with the wine or winery.
Santa Cruz Mountains is my home wine country. It was officially designated an appellation in 1981, becoming the first appellation recognized for its mountainous terrain, with vineyards up to 2600 feet. The typical vineyard size, given the terrain, is also quite small compared to other appellations. About a quarter of the appellation is planted to Pinot Noir, another quarter to Chardonnay, a third quarter to Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest to other grapes. The climate is cool and often foggy and cloudy in spots, favoring Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which crave cool growing conditions.
Prudy Foxx summarized the 2011 SCM vintage as being "nature's reaction against high alcohol wines." At most, grapes got to 23-24 brix, versus the 25-27 range in warmer years. The Spring rains also washed off pollen, stopping grapes from setting in a lot of rows and vineyards. There was also a lot of "shatter," i.e., flowers that never formed berries. Tonnage was about half as much as usual. On the other hand, Prudy claimed, it was an opportunity to pull flavors from SCM grapes that they haven't seen for years. 
Flight 2 - Alysian (2 Notes)
Flight 3 - Auteur (2 Notes)
Flight 4 - Bailiwick (4 Notes)
Bailiwick was launched in 2009 by brothers Bryan and Paul Vais. They’ve been making wine as hobbyists since the ’80s. Their inaugural 2009 releases are quite impressive.
Flight 5 - Balletto (4 Notes)
I was very impressed with this Balletto lineup. They've progressed a lot since I first tasted Balletto's Pinots two years ago. The Ballettos own about 500 acres of vines in the cool, southern part of the Russian River AVA, planted to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. They sell most of their grapes to other wineries, selecting about 10% of what they grow for their own wines. Anthony Beckman, formerly with Peay, is the winemaker. There is clearly delicious fruit here, which is generally complimented by the winemaking.
Flight 6 - Benovia (5 Notes)
I'm a big fan of Benovia's Pinots. Their Chardonnays are quite good too. The owners are Joe Anderson and Mary Dewane, along with co-owner and winemaker Mike Sullivan. They have 71 acres of estate vineyards, including the Cohn Vineyard. The Pommeraie Vineyard is owned by the Martinellis. The Bella Una is a blend of grapes from two Russian River vineyards, Martinelli and Dutton Manzana, consisting of Dijon clones 115 and 828.
Flight 7 - Berridge (3 Notes)
Flight 8 - Big Basin (4 Notes)
Flight 9 - Black Kite (2 Notes)
Flight 10 - Bluxome Street (3 Notes)
Flight 11 - Breggo (3 Notes)
Flight 12 - Bruliam (4 Notes)
Flight 13 - Burrell School (1 Note)
Flight 14 - Calstar (3 Notes)
Flight 15 - Canihan Family (3 Notes)
Flight 16 - Cartograph (2 Notes)
Flight 17 - Claypool (1 Note)
Flight 18 - Couloir (1 Note)
Flight 19 - Demuth Family (2 Notes)
Flight 20 - De Novo (3 Notes)
Flight 21 - Desmond (3 Notes)
I like the floral quality and relative lightness of these Desmond Pinot Noirs. Bill and Danette Robbins's five acres are planted to Dijon clones 115, 667, 777 and 828. I think they're doing a terrific job.
Flight 22 - Donatiello (5 Notes)
Flight 23 - Donum (1 Note)
Flight 24 - Foursight (3 Notes)
Flight 25 - Freestone (1 Note)
Flight 26 - Gundlach Bundschu (1 Note)
Flight 27 - Hahn/Lucienne/Chef's Table (2 Notes)
Flight 28 - Handley (2 Notes)
Flight 29 - Keefer Ranch (1 Note)
Flight 30 - Ketcham (2 Notes)
Flight 31 - Landmark (1 Note)
Flight 32 - La Rochelle (4 Notes)
Flight 33 - Landy Family (1 Note)
Flight 34 - Littorai (3 Notes)
Ted Lemon founded Littorai in ’93, and his Chards and Pinots are benchmarks for more Burgundian (for lack of a better term) Chards and Pinots in California. The Hirsch Vineyard bottling was particularly delicious in this lineup, although it could benefit from a few years of bottle age.
Flight 35 - Lost Canyon (2 Notes)
Flight 36 - MacPhail (2 Notes)
Flight 37 - MacRostie (2 Notes)
Flight 38 - Mahoney (3 Notes)
Flight 39 - Martin Ray (4 Notes)
Flight 40 - Masút (1 Note)
Flight 41 - Matrix (6 Notes)
Flight 42 - Merryvale (2 Notes)
Flight 43 - Orsi Papale (1 Note)
Flight 44 - Patz & Hall (2 Notes)
Flight 45 - Phillips Hill (2 Notes)
Flight 46 - Portalupi (2 Notes)
Flight 47 - Red Car (2 Notes)
Flight 48 - Small Vines (3 Notes)
My post from last year regarding this producer, and the winemaker/owner's Burgundian approach to high density plantings, can be found here: http://www.rjonwine.com/california-wine/high-density-small-vines-paul-sloan/ Paul is making wonderfully complex and expressive wines, and these 2009s showed particularly well.
Flight 49 - Sojourn (4 Notes)
I've written a number of times here about Sojourn's wines, both the Pinots and the very tasting Cabernets, and owners Craig Haserot and his partner/winemaker Erich Bradley are friends of mine. The wines are consistently good, and expressive of the vineyard sources. The 2009 Rodgers Creek showed particularly well.
Flight 50 - St. Rose (2 Notes)
2008 Mount Eden Vineyards Pinot Noir 92 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Medium dark cherry red color with pale meniscus; reticent cherry, black cherry, baking spice nose; baking spice, tart cherry, tart raspberry, mineral palate; medium-plus finish 92+ points
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2008 Windy Oaks Estate Pinot Noir Proprietor's Reserve Schultze Family Vineyard 92 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Medium cherry red with 1 millimeter clear meniscus; rhubarb, light French oak, graham cracker nose; tight, tart cherry, rhubarb, graham cracker palate; needs 2-3 years; medium-plus finish (30% whole cluster, 34-day fermentation; 70% new French oak; 24 mos. in barrel; oldest block, very steep)
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2008 Big Basin Vineyards Pinot Noir Alfaro Family Vineyard 92 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Medium dark ruby color; intense, tart cherry, black cherry, floral nose; creamy textured, tart cherry, black cherry, subtle spice palate; medium-plus finish 92+ points
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2009 Alfaro Family Pinot Noir Lester Family Vineyard 90 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Dark ruby color; ripe black cherry, wild berry nose; tight, tart raspberry, tart black cherry, wild berry palate with good acidity; medium finish 90+ points (clones 667 & 777)
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2001 Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains 86 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Slightly bricking medium ruby color with pale meniscus; mature, dried berry, sweet tobacco, tart cherry nose; mature, tart raspberry, tart red fruit palate with medium acidity; medium finish
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2008 Vine Hill Winery Pinot Noir Cumbre of Vine Hill Raffaelli Vineyard 90 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Dark ruby color; baked cherry, baking spice, rhubarb nose; tight, baking spice, baked cherry palate; needs 2-plus years; medium-plus finish (667, 777 and Pommard)
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2008 Muns Vineyard Pinot Noir 90 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Dark ruby color; aromatic, baked raspberry, brown sugar, black cherry, nutmeg nose; tight, tart black cherry,k black raspberry, nutmeg palate; needs 2-3 years; medium-plus finish (clones 114, 115, 667 and 777)
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2007 Burrell School Pinot Noir Principal's Choice Estate Reserve 88 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Very dark ruby color; brett, tart berry nose; tight, tart berry, baked berry, brett palate; medium finish (planted in 1991; Pommard 05 & 3 Dijon clones)
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2008 Beauregard Vineyards Pinot Noir Bald Mountain Vineyard 88 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains, Ben Lomond Mountain
Medium dark ruby color; spicy, baked cherry, baked berry, American oak nose; ripe raspberry, black raspberry, vanilla palate; medium finish
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2008 Thomas Fogarty Pinot Noir Rapley Trail Vineyard 89 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Medium cherry red color; sandalwood, black cherry nose; tight, black cherry, sandalwood, soy sauce palate; medium finish (Martini clone; 3 yr old air dried French oak)
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2009 Rhys Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard 88 Points
USA, California, San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County
Dark ruby color; stems, savory, green bean, green bean casserole nose; tight, stemmy, thin tart red fruit palate with firm tannins; needs 7 years; medium-plus finish
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