Wine & Spirits - October 2019 - 84

US NEW RELEASES
PINOT NOIR

On the northern edge of the Petaluma Gap,
the vines are typically blanketed in fog,
though in 2017, the heat of late summer
led the Anthill Team to pick early. They
produced a wine with violet perfume and
detailed, soil-inflected tannins, still coastal
in its lasting sense of freshness. Young and
tight, this needs bottle age to show its best.
(400 cases) -J.G.
517875

93 | Big Basin Vineyards

517967

95 | Lioco

$48

2017 Anderson Valley La Selva Pinot Noir ^
Drew Huffine joined Lioco as winemaker at
the beginning of 2018, inheriting the stillfermenting 2017 pinot noirs from the Cerise
Vineyard, on inland ridges above Boonsville,
and from Kiser, closer to the Pacific in Anderson Valley's Deep End. He also inherited a
dilemma: Lioco no longer purchased fruit
from the vineyard that had anchored La
Selva, their Anderson Valley blend, so Huffine and Matt Licklider decided to declassify
two barrels each from these vineyard designates to create this clean, rich and oceanic
pinot, using the brisk cherry-skin notes of a
far-coast pinot to lighten and layer seashell
salinity into the inland pinot's bitter chocolate tannins. It's a pretty wine, and pretty
light in terms of extract and weight, yet it
delivers sophisticated flavor depth. -J.G.

93 | Deovlet

94 | Deovlet

$60

2017 Sta. Rita Hills Sanford & Benedict
Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ Drawn from two old
blocks at Sanford & Benedict, this wine offers
a haunting mix of fruit and savor. Its aromas
of plum and black cherry are limned with
savory notes of rose petals and creosote; the
flavors are poised and elegant, with a wildberry grip of tannins that lasts. The wine is a
bit distant and sleek, as pinot from Sanford &
Benedict often is, while mouthwatering acidity enlivens it. (144 cases) -P.J.C.
517941

93 | Anthill Farms

$48

2017 Sonoma Coast Peters Vineyard Pinot
Noir ^ The Anthill Farms team consistently
makes some of their top wines from Peters
Vineyard, a site in the hills west of Sebastopol.
84

WINE & SPIRITS

OCTOBER 2019

$50

2017 Sta. Rita Hills Zotovich Family Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ This pinot, from a sandy
mid-valley-floor site managed and owned by
Ryan Zotovich, leads with scents of oolong
tea and dark berries. Its flavors are juicy and
bright, framed by tobacco and smoke, a delicious, layered pinot. (167 cases) -P.J.C.
517963

93 | Melville

517331

$60

2016 Santa Cruz Mountains Alfaro Family
Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ This grows on a southfacing slope in Corralitos, close to the Monterey Bay, where the vines gained enough
ripeness in 2016 for Bradley Brown to put
the whole bunches, stems and all, in a fermenter and do little more than tread them by
foot. It turned into a transparent pinot with
touches of brown in the color, the flavor all
about salted plums and red currants. Rose
scents develop with air, as does a nautilusshell echo of the sea. Built for any fresh catch.
(155 cases) -J.G.
517333

$60

2017 Sta. Rita Hills Anna's Block Pinot
Noir ^ This comes from the westernmost
reaches of Melville's estate, a cool, windy
eight-acre block that provided an extra-spicy
2017. It smells mulled and dark, with scents
of smoke and licorice root and dark blackcherry flavors; then a pleasing mouthwatering tartness develops, underlining the wine's
complexity. It's got energy in spades, and the
stuff to cellar. (523 cases) -P.J.C.
517874

92 | Big Basin Vineyards

$55

2016 Monterey County Coastview Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ From a high-elevation site
not far from Pinnacles National Park, this
reflects the site's coolness with its savor. It
leads with scents of smoke and peat, the redfruit flavors tart and crunchy, with a candiedginger edge. It's a wine to age, and to serve
with grilled octopus. (335 cases) -P.J.C.
517354

92 | Chappellet

$60

2017 Russian River Valley Grower Collection Two Blocks Bateman Vineyard Pinot
Noir ^ This is a complex pinot with fragrant
raspberry length. Its spicy tannins layer notes

of fennel sausage, cherry bark and crushed
green peppercorn into flavors of sweet plum
skin and wild berries. The complexity lasts in
airy, breathable fruit tannins. There's plenty
of wine here to cellar, though it really isn't
necessary; it offers layers of flavor right now.
(269 cases) -J.G.
517353

92 | Chappellet

$45

92 | Deovlet

$55

92 | Melville

$50

91 | Buena Vista

$40

91 | Deovlet

$40

91 | Lioco

$80

2017 Russian River Valley Grower Collection Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir ^ This wine's
velvet richness has the dark savor of roast
squab. Its fruit is precisely detailed, with
the spectrum of cherry flavors, from skin to
flesh to pit. Tight, firm and juicy, this has the
earthiness to serve with braised wild duck or
other meaty game birds. (1,284 cases) -J.G.
517332
2017 Sta. Rita Hills La Encantada Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ A bit of whole-cluster
spice-licorice and bergamot-leads in
this elegant red from vines Richard Sanford
planted in 2000. It's dark and lean, smelling
of orange pekoe and black cherry, ageable,
but with a texture so elegant it's hard to resist
drinking the wine now. (166 cases) -P.J.C.
517962
2017 Sta. Rita Hills Sandy's Block Pinot
Noir ^ Dark and heady, this is direct and primary, but the wine has a savory herb note
that lends a textural complexity to all that
succulence, and underlines the wine's energy
and drive. (721 cases) -P.J.C.
517864
2017 Sonoma Coast Chateau Buena Vista
Pinot Noir ^ Red-cherry brightness gives this
a simple clarity, spicy and warm, with a hint
of mushroom savor adding depth. It's open
and ready to serve with buttermilk-battered
fried chicken. (3,986 cases) -J.G.
517334
2017 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir ^ A
blend of fruit from three vineyards, including Zotovich and Sanford & Benedict, this is
smoky, with umami notes coming up against
tart blueberry flavors. It's bright, tense and
lean, with a carob-like grip of tannins. For
duck. (335 cases) -P.J.C.
517968
2017 Anderson Valley Kiser Vineyard
Pinot Noir ^ There's youthfully brisk, coastal
fruit at the heart of this pinot, hidden for
now behind a heavy drape of tannins, both
from new oak and from a higher proportion
of whole clusters than Lioco's La Selva (also
recommended here). Scents of plum and

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Wine & Spirits - October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - October 2019