AVTG does '09 Anderson Valley pinot, blind

Kudos to winemaker Joe Webb and Foursight wines, who, in a blind tasting of 18 Anderson Valley pinot noirs, produced the 1st and 2nd place wines. No small feat, with some real heavy hitters in the lineup - Rhys, Littorai, Drew, etc. Hopefully this will provide the impetus for more people to try his wines; that are minimal input, always possess great purity and clarity, and are a true expression of a first class site - the exceptional Charles Vineyard in Boonville.

• 2009 Drew Family Cellars Pinot Noir Morning Dew Ranch Vineyard

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Dark garnet, almost opaque, dark fruit aromas. Mid weight. Sweet, dark fruit, spice, smartly balanced vanilla/oak in the background. Acid +, tight, fine tannin. Excellent. My #2, group NR WOTN

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• 2009 Baxter Pinot Noir Langely Vineyard

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Red berry, clove, caramel oak nose. Ripe, Sweet fruit, strawberry, orange, root beer, tannin, acid, oak finish. Very nice. NOTE: There isn't any new oak, not even of the still living variety, within probably 5 miles in any direction of this winery. Go figure.

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• 2009 Rhys Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Super dark, purple/black hue. Intensely aromatic, earthy, cinnamon/spice, vanilla nose. Structured, tight, with spice, dark fruit, licorice. Grainy tannin, oak finish, needs time. Very interesting wine. An outlier in this tasting. Excellent. My #3 Group #3 (tie).

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• 2009 Phillips Hill Pinot Noir Wiley Vineyard

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Very light, cherry red, orange hue. Lightest body of the flight, still intensely flavored but without the weight. Elegant. Sappy red berry, citrus, vanilla, creamy texture. Acid driven finish. Very nice.

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• 2009 Foursight Pinot Noir Charles Vineyard

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Pretty wine, medium dark, garnet. High toned red fruit, floral nose. Cherry, dark berry, spicy oak. Tight, focused, lazer beam of flavor. Good balance. Very nice. My NR, Group #2 WOTN.

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• 2009 Papapietro Perry Pinot Noir Charles Vineyard Flawed

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Corked

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• 2009 Londer Pinot Noir Paraboll

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Deep, earthy, leathery, dark fruit aromas. Red cherry, earth, spicy oak. Round, mouthfilling. Racy finish. Very nice.

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• 2009 Londer Pinot Noir Anderson Valley

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Deep, dark fruit, oak aromas. Dark fruit, violet, savory/leather, sweet oak midpalate. Big tannin, acid finish. A bruiser. Needs time.

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• 2009 Breggo Cellars Pinot Noir Savoy Vineyard

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Heady, woodsy, cherry/berry aromas. Viscous, full bodied, rich, intense. Black cherry, mint, spicy oak, acid, tannin. Wild. Needs time.

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• 2009 Foursight Pinot Noir Zero Charles Vineyard

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Cool blue fruit, leather, funk nose. Bright, very pretty, red cherry, cranberry, pomegranate. Fresh, minty/spicy finish. Lingers nicely. Super tasty. My #1, Group #1 WOTN.

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• 2009 Buckner Mountain Estate Pinot Noir

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Straightforward, dark fruit, earth, oak flavors. Touch of bitterness on the finish.

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• 2009 Twomey Pinot Noir Anderson Valley

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Super aromatic. Dark cherry, cinnamon/spice nose. Tight, reserved, mid-weight, sour cherry, spice palate. Warm finish. Opened up nicely upon retaste, about 2 hours after opening. Nice.

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• 2009 Husch Vineyards Pinot Noir Knoll

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Leather, earth, barnyard nose. Leathery, earthy palate, with dark cherry underneath. Dry finish. Super savory. An outlier, stylistically, from the other wines in the flight.

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• 2009 Baxter Pinot Noir Anderson Valley

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  High toned, red fruit/cherry nose. Linear, tight, cherry, Santa Rosa plum, citrus (?) palate. Good structure/acid - nice framework to the sweet fruit midpalate. Balanced. Very nice.

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• 2009 Knez Winery Pinot Noir Cerise Vineyard

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Generous, sweet strawberry/cherry, rose petal palate. Bright, acid finish. Rich, concentrated, but not heavy. Very nice.

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• 2009 Littorai Pinot Noir Cerise Vineyard

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Red fruit, stem/cinnamon/spice, oak nose. Bright red fruit on the attack - cherry, cranberry. Interesting Gala apple note on the midpalate. Earthy, spicy finish. Tight, needs time.

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• 2009 MacPhail Pinot Noir Toulouse Vineyard

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Reductive nose, dark fruit underneath. Very forward, sweet, dark fruit palate, with some pinot funk and earth to boot. Viscous and not shy. A fuller style.

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• 2009 Toulouse Vineyards Pinot Noir

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Ripe, with straightforward, candied/sweet, black cherry and plum palate. Spicy oak finish. Crowd pleasing style.

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Our blind tasting group concluded that the 2009 vintage in the Anderson Valley yielded bolder, flashier, riper styled wines; producing, generally speaking, dark fruited wines that lean towards the fatter, showier, high pH end of the spectrum. The best wines in this flight had good structure and acid, and seemed to pose excellent mid-term aging potential. The AFWE crowd might want to look at the 2011 vintage, where ripeness and alcohol levels were dialed way back, producing leaner, racier wines across the board. For me, the 2010 vintage was the best of the three, with a long, cool growing season that allowed winemakers to pick at their leisure. This yielded wines that conform to vineyard characteristics, within the framework of winery house styles.