Wine & Spirits - April 2021 - 68

Year's Best
US Pinot Noirs
CA L I FO RN I A
CE N T R A L C OAST
MO N T E RE Y & SA N B E N IT O
523219

95 | Calera

$100

2017 Mt. Harlan Selleck Vineyard Pinot
Noir ^ Selleck's pinot vines, planted in 1975,
are among Calera's oldest, and in 2017 they
channeled the generous vintage through
the mannered restraint that old vines bring.
Mike Waller has crafted an exuberant wine
that never overreaches, its abundant darkberry fruit held in check by a thrilling line of
acidity and mineral lift. The wine is majestic, confident in its footing. Delicious now, it
has the structure and poise to age 20 years at
least. -P.J.C. (306 cases) §

Our blind panels tasted 917 new-release
Pinot Noirs over the past 12 months. our
critics rated 353 as exceptional (90+) and
77 as Best Buys. Joshua Greene covers
California's North Coast; Patrick
Comiskey reviews the Central Coast and
Oregon wines. Find a complete list of wines
tasted and all reviews at
wineandspiritsmagazine.com.

91 | Bernardus Winery

$70

91 | Birichino

$40

2018 Santa Lucia Highlands Sierra Mar
Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ Dark and savory with
scents of plum skin, this wine has an appealing balsamic spiciness to the aromas that
carries over to the flavors: Dark cherry and
caramel oak meld in a texturally firm pinot,
of the right weight for lamb shoulder. -P.J.C.
(350 cases) §
000000 (CK)
2018 Lime Kiln Valley Enz Vineyard Pinot
Noir ^ This is just the second vintage that
Birichino has worked with the fruit at Enz,
which has vines going back to the nineteenth
century. (The pinot vines used were planted
in the late '70s.) It is at once radial and mineral, the fruit reflecting a burst of California
rays, the mineral grit of the granite and limestone soils holding the fruit lightly in check.
It is a sturdy wine, tightly wound, with a soillike texture that suggests a long cellar life.
-P.J.C. (50 cases) §

523221

94 | Calera

$75

2017 Mt. Harlan Ryan Vineyard Pinot
Noir ^ From a parcel planted in 1989 at a cool
elevation of 2,500 feet, Ryan was the most
alluring and elusive of the three Calera wines
we tasted for this issue. It's vinous, with a
distant scent of smoke and a lean elegance.
The dark-plum flavors are plenty ripe but are
informed by a thrust of acid that gives the
wine energy and aging power. Cellar. § -P.J.C.
523220

93 | Calera

$75

2017 Mt. Harlan Mills Vineyard Pinot
Noir ^ The Mills Vineyard was planted in 1984
on a limestone slope facing south-southeast.
The wine is dusty and spicy with scents of
turf, forest floor and a hint of oak. At its
center is a lush core of cherry fruit, silky and
voluptuous, expressing a juicy ripeness that's
ready now for tea-smoked salmon. § -P.J.C.
522910
68

WINE & SPIRITS

APRIL 2021

523255

91 | Lucienne

$50

2018 Santa Lucia Highlands Doctor's
Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ Leading with a bright
cherry scent overlaid with caramelly oak, this
pinot, from the warm center of the appellation, is straightforward and utterly delicious.
The fruit is fresh and lush at once, the oak a
stalwart but well-integrated presence. Decant
and serve with roast chicken. -P.J.C. (1,130
cases) §
523257

91 | McIntyre Vineyards

$65

2014 Santa Lucia Highlands Estate Old
Vine Pinot Noir ^ Shy in this stage in its life,
this wine hints at smoky, spicy notes and
scents of mushrooms to go along with its
mild dried-red-berry flavors. Its texture after
years in the bottle is lean and refined, with

a humus savor to the tannins that will pair
well with a wild mushroom risotto. -P.J.C.
(101 cases) §

523207

91 | Williams Selyem

$39

90 | Big Basin Vineyards

$55

90 | Calera

$50

90 | Calera

$50

2019 San Benito County Central Coast
Pinot Noir (Best Buy) ^ From Vista Verde, a
limestone-flecked estate vineyard that has
come into its own over the last decade, this
wine has a classically red-fruited pinot fruit
profile, much like the Williams-Selyem North
Coast wines. Its red cherry and amaro flavors
feel exuberant, simple and completely delicious. § -P.J.C.
522847
2018 Monterey County Coastview Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ A rustic California red,
this overlays pinot noir's strawberry intensity with a heavy drape of grape-skin tannins,
taking that fruit in a darker direction. Decant
it for braised boar. -J.G. §
522940
2018 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir ^
What starts off woozy and rich, with a dark
SLH footprint, becomes tense, taut and
sleek, a firm expression of Santa Lucia's windswept benchlands. Its straightforward flavors
are ready for skirt steak. § -P.J.C.
521461
2017 Santa Cruz Mountains Muns Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ A new venture outside of
Calera's usual regional haunts, this is simple
and delicious, with notes of black plum and
brown bread. It needs some cellar time to
integrate. -P.J.C. (W&S 10/20; 250 cases) §

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Wine & Spirits - April 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - April 2021