Wine & Spirits - April 2020 - 87

YEAR'S BEST US PINOT NOIRS
DUNDEE HILLS
520009

94 | Domaine Drouhin

$70

2016 Dundee Hills Laurène Pinot Noir ^
Laurène, named for Veronique Drouhin's
daughter, leads with notes of sassafras and
smoke before revealing a plummy core of
cherry flavor. It's lifted, the fruit guided on
burnished tannins, the finish elegant and
a bit backward, the wine needing years for
peak expression. (2,883 cases) -P.J.C.
518037

94 | J. Christopher

$65

2016 Dundee Hills Abbey Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ From an old high-elevation
Dundee Hills site, this has an old-vine grace
and balance. It leads with aromas of spice,
tobacco, anise, rye grain and soil, all in the
service of restrained cherry. The flavors are
cool, elegant and finely wrought, with succulent ripeness. It feels natural and effortless;
for duck. (W&S 10/19; 98 cases) -P.J.C.
520010

93 | Domaine Drouhin

ened by scents of cedar, red earth and dried
mushroom. The umami elements seem to
lengthen the flavors into a generous and
vibrant finish. (W&S 10/19; 70 cases) -P.J.C.
519667

92 | Domaine Roy

$60

2017 Dundee Hills Incline Estate Pinot
Noir ^ This starts out tight, then fills out with
air, growing plummy, juicy and a bit gingery.
Rich and smoky, it's got a long life ahead; cellar, then serve with braised beef. -P.J.C.
518038

92 | J. Christopher

$52

2016 Dundee Hills Sandra Adele Pinot
Noir ^ With scents of dried leaves supporting a
quiet red-fruited cherry-compote aroma, this
generous wine feels like comfort food, ripe
and succulent but with a pleasing bitter note
that frames the wine and creates a savor for
duck confit. (W&S 10/19; 170 cases) -P.J.C.

$45

2016 Dundee Hills Pinot Noir ^ The 2016
vintage defies Veronique Drouhin's customary restraint: It's heady with aromas of cherry
and strawberry, the forward fruit feeling
almost pulpy on the palate. Yet notes of tanbark and firm, spicy tannins rein it in so that
the wine maintains a kind of opulent grace,
rich and sleek at once. -P.J.C.

517959

92 | Rose & Arrow

$150

2017 Dundee Hills 1st Red Dust Worden
Hill Pinot Noir ^ Worden Hill sits at 900 feet
in elevation on a south-facing site at the crest
of the Dundee Hills, where the rock is transitioning into soil. To call this wine "Red Dust"
is fairly spot-on: It articulates the wine's irondust scent and its mineral grip, the texture
made precise by those ferrous tannins, all in
the service of succulent, sweet red-berry fruit.
(W&S 10/19; 123 cases) -P.J.C.
519607

92 | Sokol Blosser

519898

93 | Furioso

$45

2017 Dundee Hills L'Altra Pinot Noir ^ This
estate wine is pungently aromatic, like a spice
box filled with cinnamon and cut tobacco.
Yet the flavors are mouthwatering and pure,
the cherry fruit framed in dusty mineral tannins that provide tension and grip; for duck
confit. (675 cases) -P.J.C.
518039

93 | J. Christopher

$52

2016 Dundee Hills Charlie's Vineyard
Pinot Noir ^ From one of Jay Somers's original vineyard sources, this wine demonstrates
the simple beauty and charm of a J. Christopher pinot. It feels generous and forward
but also a touch resinous and savory, leav-

$80

2017 Dundee Hills Goosepen Block Pinot
Noir ^ Goosepen describes an estate block
where the Sokol-Blossers attempted an illfated experiment to have geese trim the
weeds and grasses-no dice, but a good story.
There's a rumbling dark scent of roots and
earth in this wine, with a hint of dark plum
pastilles. The fruit bursts on the palate with
an almost maraschino sweetness that's simple and irresistible, a generous wine for duck
(not goose). (550 cases) -P.J.C.
518030

91 | J. Christopher

$30

2016 Dundee Hills Volcanique Pinot Noir
(Best Buy) ^ J. Christopher's entry-level wine
overdelivers, leading with a bright burst of
plummy flavor that holds a wheat-and-rye

savor. It's exuberant, with a veil of tannins
that grounds the wine and gives it a pleasing
bitterness. (W&S 10/19; 1,700 cases) -P.J.C.
520065

91 | Knudsen

$55

91 | Winter's Hill

$54

90 | J. Christopher

$40

90 | Panther Creek

$45

90 | Rose & Arrow

$120

90 | Sokol Blosser

$70

90 | Twomey

$95

2017 Dundee Hills Pinot Noir ^ Scents of rye
and cherry lead in this red. It's tethered by
turf-like tannins, lean and focused. Ideal for
smoked trout. (375 cases) -P.J.C.
519597
2017 Dundee Hills Block 8 Pinot Noir ^
Block 8 is a selection of old Wadenswil clone
pinot. It smells faintly of allspice and cinnamon, with juicy, warm strawberry fruit that
feels luminous and bright, grounded by a
red-earth grip of tannins. (100 cases) -P.J.C.
518040
2016 Dundee Hills Dundee Hills Cuvée
Pinot Noir ^ Sourced from Bella Vida, a
26-acre site with multiple clones and aspects,
this has plenty of red cherry fruit in its scents,
with some foresty elements lining its maraschino sharpness. The wine is lean and
mouthwatering, with a mushroom umami
feel to the tannins that lends it complexity
and depth. (W&S 10/19; 150 cases) -P.J.C.
519484
2016 Dundee Hills De Ponte Vineyard
Pinot Noir ^ Attractive scents of pine and
clove adorn a red-cherry core of flavor.
Despite being rich and a bit oak heavy, the
wine is kept in check by a red-dust mineral
note. For duck prosciutto. (100 cases) -P.J.C.
517957
2017 Dundee Hills The Black Walnut
Worden Hill Pinot Noir ^ Worden Hill is a
rocky lens of decomposing basalt. It yielded
a savory wine in 2017, with scents of briar and
sod framing dark flavors of cherry and plum.
The wine feels both heady and dusty, its saturated fruit character infused with a mineral
slurry that adds structure and grip. (W&S
10/19; 205 cases) -P.J.C.
519608
2017 Dundee Hills Big Tree Block Pinot
Noir ^ Lean and high toned, with scents of
clove and violets, this delivers generous
cherry flavor on a razor's edge of acidity. The
tension would cut against weighty dishes,
like roast lamb. (550 cases) -P.J.C.
520100
2017 Dundee Hills Prince Hill Vineyard
Pinot Noir ^ This wine feels exuberant,
packed with pretty red-cherry and strawberry
flavors. That sweet red fruit needs a braise,
WINE & SPIRITS

APRIL 2020

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Wine & Spirits - April 2020

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