Wine & Spirits - April 2020 - 85

YEAR'S BEST US PINOT NOIRS

519689

91 | Balletto
519271

92 | Williams Selyem

$110

2017 Russian River Valley Williams
Selyem Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ Generous raspberry flavors lend this wine flesh
while still allowing some transparency to the
structure. It's juicy and rich, with a violetpurple cast to the fruit. Pour it with smoked
duck. -J.G.
516988

92 | Williams Selyem

$78

2017 Russian River Valley Olivet Lane
Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ This grows at the Pellegrini family's vineyard in Santa Rosa, one of
the first plantings of pinot noir in the Russian
River Valley. The vines are now well past 40,
and their concentrated fruit produced a taut
and juicy 2017. That fruit comes in shades of
red, from Bing cherry to ripe strawberry and
darker raspberry, generous, cool and spicy.
Oak keeps it structured with a cinnamonbark note. Decant it for a salad of duck confit and pomegranate. (W&S 8/19) -J.G.

519752

91 | Balletto

$29

2017 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (Best
Buy) ^ Saturated with strawberry and darker
cherry fruit, this is clean and simple, a supple
pinot noir that feels cool. An elegant wine
with fruit richness, it could take on salt-baked
salmon. -J.G.

519754
$44

2017 Russian River Valley Burnside Road
Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ "This is full but fresh,"
said tasting coordinator Sydney Love, "like a
cool breeze on a warm day." It makes a light
and delicate impression; even as the tannins are beefy and succulent, there's nothing aggressive about the wine. Ready to drink
with a steak salad. (620 cases) -J.G.
519806

91 | DeLoach

$60

2017 Russian River Valley Sebastopol
Hills Pennacchio Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ Joe
Pennacchio farms this vineyard in the hills
south of Sebastopol. Brian Maloney, who
makes the wine at DeLoach, finds it to be
one of the first of their pinot sites to reach
bud break and one of their last to harvest,
something he attributes to the clone (115)
and the rootstock (St. George). Even with
that long season, the tannins in this wine are
aggressive, smoky and black until the bottle
has been open for a while. Tasted two days
later, the tannins begin to quiet and the dark
fruit gains potency, turning juicy and grand.
Decant it for braised duck with prunes. (210
cases) -J.G.
516899

91 | Marimar Estate

$59

91 | Sonoma-Cutrer

$50

2015 Russian River Valley Stony Block
Don Miguel Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ This wine
is clean and fragrant, with scents of roses and
fine leather, the flavors rich enough to fully
incorporate the dry tannins. Those tannins
are smoky and bold, layering savor into the
fruit, setting the wine up for grilled hamachi
kama. (W&S 8/19; 175 cases) -J.G.
519254
2017 Russian River Valley Flanc de Coteau
Blocs Vine Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ Mick
Schroeter makes this wine from SonomaCutrer's Vine Hill estate, working with a cold
soak and a submerged-cap fermentation to
build the inky intensity of this pinot noir. Its
violet scent expands to absorb the oak notes
over the course of several days after the bottle is opened, transforming the tannins from
grape-skin bitterness toward scintillating
power and grace. (1,200 cases) -J.G.

90 | Balletto

$44

90 | Ladera

$60

2017 Russian River Valley Cider Ridge
Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ The simple blueberryskin flavors of this wine's fruit integrate into
sweet hints of caramel from oak aging. This
is rich, smoky and round, ready to drink with
seared duck breast. (360 cases) -J.G.
517509
2016 Russian River Valley Pillow Road
Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ Focused on full-bore
cherry fruit, this fleshy pinot has a light
touch for all that juicy richness. It's gentle
and cherry-simple, a wine to pour with rare
roast beef. (W&S 10/19; 1,244 cases) -J.G.

519925

90 | J Vineyards & Winery

$40

2017 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ^
Here's a refreshing Russian River pinot to
catch young, while the delicate cherry flavors
feel bright and incisive. It's round and smoky
in the end, with some cherry-skin chew to the
tannins, its gracious power a match for spicy
braised pork. -J.G.

519554

90 | Michael Pozzan

$22

2017 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (Best
Buy) ^ There's a lot to like in this well-priced
pinot, from its wild-strawberry freshness to
its brisk, earthy tannins and heirloom-apple
complexity. Those tannins go a bit muddled
WINE & SPIRITS

APRIL 2020

https://www.ballettovineyards.com/shop/?view=product&slug=2016%20Pinot%20Noir%20-%20Cider%20Ridge https://www.ballettovineyards.com/shop/?view=product&slug=2016%20Pinot%20Noir%20-%20Burnside https://www.williamsselyem.com/our-wines https://www.jwine.com/wines/2016-pinot-noir-russian-river-valley https://www.ballettovineyards.com/shop/?view=product&slug=2017%20RRV%20Pinot%20Noir https://www.michaelpozzanwinery.com/product/Michael-Pozzan-2017-Russian-River-Pinot-Noir?pageID=E96DF324-A011-AE1C-1D91-D9BADC0EF859&sortBy=DisplayOrder&maxRows=8&

Wine & Spirits - April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - April 2020