Wine & Spirits - April 2020 - 84

YEAR'S BEST US PINOT NOIRS
ton family, this is a sophisticated pinot with
lasting flavors. (W&S 2/20; 98 cases) -J.G.
518634

90 | MacRostie

$58

2017 Petaluma Gap Rodgers Creek Pinot
Noir ^ The winds of the Petaluma Gap left
their mark in the potent grape-skin tannins
of this wine. It grows on a west-facing hillside
in rocky, volcanic soils, taking on spicy greenpeppercorn scents and dark cherry flavors.
Grippy and bold, this is a wine for pasta with
rabbit sausage and wild mushrooms. (W&S
2/20; 127 cases) -J.G.

RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY

eight miles from the Pacific. The northern
exposition of the blocks James Hall uses further emphasizes the coolness of the site, the
wine fermented as whole clusters and aged in
French oak barrels (50 percent new), without
either aspect dominating the flavor. Instead,
this is delicately floral, with the kind of earthbound fruit and seductive energy pinot noir
can achieve in an optimal site. Just smelling
the wine may be enough for Burgundy lovers in search of quiet pleasures from the New
World. This is plump and generous, as you
might expect from a Russian River pinot,
using that supple generosity to build a sense
of grandeur. It's a new classic from the Pacific
coast. (459 cases) -J.G.
519881

93 | DeLoach

519266

96 | Williams Selyem

$85

2017 Russian River Valley Rochioli Riverblock Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ We tasted a lot
of Russian River Valley pinot noir over the
course of several days and this one stood out
as classical. It's a wine with both stamina and
depths to its flavors, reverberating long after
each sip, as if you'd been listening to digitized jazz for a while, then decided to play
Stan Getz on vinyl and the sound filled the
room in a completely different way. "Coming home to RRV," I wrote. "This tastes like
Rochioli in its richness and layered-soil
verve." It might surprise some rock-head terroirists that a wine grown in layers of sand
washed off the river could offer so much
distinction, and yet this is one of the most
identifiable pinot noirs in California. It's distinctly beautiful in the cool, balanced ripeness of the fruit Joe Rochioli, Jr., farms and
the elegant, fern-green freshness winemaker
Jeff Mangahas retains in the wine, the protocols built around Rochioli fruit since 1980-
such as foot treading, and fermentation with
a local yeast that Burt Williams isolated-
seeming to play invisibly into this wine's stature. A California collectible deserving a place
in your cellar. -J.G.
519637

95 | Patz & Hall

$65

2017 Russian River Valley Bootlegger's
Hill Pinot Noir ^ Charlie Chenoweth planted
this vineyard in 2007 on Goldridge soils
84

WINE & SPIRITS

APRIL 2020

$90

2017 Russian River Valley Les Parcelles
Cachées Estate Pinot Noir ^ From a block
on DeLoach's estate vineyard on Olivet Lane,
this shows the finesse and care that goes into
the firm's farming (the estate has been certified biodynamic since 2010). Wine & Sprits
tasting coordinator Sydney Love described
how the oak shaped the wine, presenting its
glistening fruit as "honest and transparent.
The wine is not dirty, but it makes you feel
rustic, like you're hiking outdoors." Strikingly rich, this layers cool, bright fruit over
tarry tannins and dark, spicy oak tones, the
wine structured to age. (49 cases) -J.G.
519808

93 | DeLoach

$40

2017 Russian River Valley OFS Pinot Noir
(Best Buy) ^ Brian Maloney selects fruit for
OFS ("our finest selection") from sites including DeLoach's estate vineyard, Starkey and
BCD, blending a wine with balletic grace
in 2017. It moves from delicate rose scents
into darker shadows of richness and spice,
circling back to red-fruit brightness, leaving the mouth with a sense of freshness. The
wine's gentle persistence draws you back
for another sip. It's complete rather than
complex, a wine to enjoy on its own or with
poached salmon. (465 cases) -J.G.
519934

93 | Kosta Browne

$115

2017 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ^ Nico
Cuevo sources the fruit for this Russian River
Valley pinot from a host of vineyards, focusing on sites near the Kosta Browne winery in
Sebastopol. In 2017, he built a wine with stature, lovely richness and the tight, muscular
body of a marathon runner. Its sour-cherry
notes carry tense floral and earthy scents,
quiet in the middle, then amplified into the
finish toward a far horizon line. This is a gen-

erous wine with some brightness and tension
to sustain it over the next several years in the
cellar. -J.G.

517353

92 | Chappellet

$45

92 | Chappellet

$60

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 a
spectrum of cherry flavors, from skin to flesh
to pit. Tight and juicy, this has the earthiness to serve with braised wild duck or other
meaty game. (W&S 10/19; 1,284 cases) -J.G.
517354
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.
(W&S 10/19; 269 cases) -J.G.

518489

92 | Davis Bynum

$35

2017 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
(Best Buy) ^ Greg Morthole sourced fruit for
this 2017 from vineyards in the Santa Rosa
plain, the Middle Reach of the Russian River
and Green Valley. Some of the fruit also came
from an estate vineyard in the Petaluma Gap.
Those varied sites provided enough generous fruit flavor to balance the wine's brighter
notes of sassafras and earthy notes of roots.
It's a clean, fragrant and spicy pinot noir to
pour with grilled pork. (W&S 12/19) -J.G.

https://www.chappellet.com/wine-shop/chappellet/ https://www.williamsselyem.com/our-wines https://www.rodneystrong.com/our-wines-landing/

Wine & Spirits - April 2020

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