Quick highlights- World of Pinot Noir Grand Tasting

The connection to Arcadian Winery served as my ticket to the World of Pinot Noir Grand Tasting. Friend and fellow blogger Liz D. and I were the friendly faces proudly pouring 2007 vintages of Arcadian Pisoni and Arcadian Fiddlestix Pinot Noirs to the masses - great wines to set the bar for my opportunity to get out from behind the table to taste.

Armed with my phone (camera), a pen, scrap pieces of paper and a WOPN pinot glass, I set out to rapidly taste the chosen producers that I could get to. I tend to prefer the balance/lower alcohol/higher acid/stemmy style of Pinot, so many of the favorites reflect these preferences, however I did try to get to a variety of regions and styles.

Starting with Sta. Rita Hills, Raj Parr was offering a preview of Sandhi's 2011 Pinot Noir Wenzlau, Sta. Rita Hills from magnum. The south-facing vineyard is located high in the hills overlooking the Santa Ynez River, between the Sea Smoke and Mt. Carmel vineyards. The wine is completely whole-cluster fermented, aged in mostly neutral barrel, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. The stems were alive with pine-forest and fennel notes along with bright cherry, anise and mineral notes through a long fine structure. As the stems integrate and weave their complexity within the wine this will be one to love.

Paul Lato action shot!

The vaunted Pisoni Vineyard of Santa Lucia Highlands was wonderfully represented by a pair of divergent Pinot Noirs. While his lineup centered around Santa Barbara County, the Paul Lato 2009 Pinot Noir Lancelot Pisoni Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands amazed with its incredible depth and elegance along with seamless layers of earthen spice, florals and bright berry notes throughout. On the other side of the coin the Pisoni Estate 2010 Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands brought a huge profile with pipe-tobacco, black tea and cherry cola over a deep foundation of earth and spice. The tannins were ripe, the acid was integrated and the finish was huge - an epic wine. 

I was quite smitten with two wines from the new Fort Ross-Seaview AVA in the far Sonoma Coast. Flowers 2010 Pinot Noir Sea View Ridge, Sonoma Coast was seamless in its deep layers of dark earthen spice and dried cherry and fig. The wine comes from soils of schist, sandstone and shale and is grown at elevations upwards of 1875'. Fermentation employs partial whole clusters. Failla's 2011 Pinot Noir Whistler, Sonoma Coast is similar in its deep notes of dark earth and spice and fig with firm acids and fine long tannin.

Copain's 2010 "En Haut" Kiser Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley comes from the cool "deep end" of Anderson Valley. The upper parcel of the Kiser Vineyard is notable for the schist and sandstone soils. This was showing beautiful earthy mineral, floral, savory spice and tea notes throughout, highlighted by sharp red cherry and laid out on a beautifully elegant frame. Awesome stuff.

Oregon was well represented with a couple of standouts from Soter & Bergström. The Soter 2010 Pinot Noir Mineral Springs Ranch, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton is grown in sloping south-facing siltstone soils and destemmed prior to fermentation, with the resulting wines aged in 30% new French oak barrels. The profile showed a melange of savory spice notes to go along with sous bois and bright fig, stitched with a tightly-wound elegant structure. The 2011 Bergström 2011 Pinot Noir De Lancellotti, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains in contrast highlights a bright minerality of chalk and limestone to go along with rich fig fruit and great depth of violet, mushroom and spice notes wound in a silky rich structure. 

These highlights represent what was on balance a fine grouping of exciting Pinot Noir producers that I tasted through. Click here for notes on all of the wines I tasted.