Wine & Spirits - April 2021 - 84

Year's Best US Pinot Noirs
90 | Vie

$50

2018 Sonoma Coast Canihan Vineyards
Pinot Noir ^ A raft of fruit piled in raspberries,
mulberries and muddled black cherries, this
dense wine is buoyed by fruit-skin tannins
that keep it clean, open to heady complexity. There's a bloody, iron-like note in the end
that suggests serving this with cold-smoked
lamb. (250 cases) -J.G. §
522393

90 | Windracer

$75

2018 Sonoma Coast Sealift Vineyard
Pinot Noir ^ This pinot comes from the Jackson family's estate in Annapolis, where the
fruit grew to generous ripeness while still
holding some coastal briskness. The sweetness of dimpled grapes lends richness, the
wine lasting in a dusty, lively and elegant finish. (181 cases) -J.G. §
522361

89 | Longhand

$17

2017 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir (Best Buy) ^
Briskly tannic, this wine has a light red glow
that lasts. Its fat cherry flavors are firm and
fresh. And if it feels a little clean and technical, there's plenty of fragrant length to make
this a steal at the price. (2,319 cases) -J.G. §
522363

88 | Peter Paul

$32

2019 Sonoma Coast Gravenstein Highway Pinot Noir (Best Buy) ^ A rich scent of
rosewood carries through this pinot, its sweet
berry fruit mellowing into a rounded texture.
Pour it with roast beef. (566 cases) -J.G. §
522345

87 | Sean Minor Wines

$22

2019 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir (Best Buy) ^
Bright pomegranate and transparent cranberry flavors fill this soft pinot noir. It's gentle rather than distinctive, a light red to enjoy
on its own. (3,000 cases) § -J.G.

wine from the One Sky estate vineyard on
Sonoma Mountain, where this 2018 developed sweet rose-petal scents while sustaining
tangy grapefruit notes in its zesty freshness.
There's a lovely tension between the candied
rose and citrus spice scents in the finish, delicious with a butterflied leg of lamb roasted
with orange and lemon. (387 cases) -J.G. §
522414

88 | Owl Ridge

$28

2018 Sonoma Mountain Willowbrook
Kaufman Sunnyslope Vyd. Pinot Noir
(Best Buy) ^ This musky, gamey pinot has
the freshness of a spring meadow, its scent
bursting with blossoms, its fruit tart red and
sweet. Tannins pull it back, gaining prominence with air. Pour it with charcuterie. (227
cases) -J.G. §

SONOMA VALLEY
522413

92 | Hanzell Vineyards

$98

2018 Sonoma Valley Pinot Noir ^ Michael
McNeill blends fruit from three parcels at
this historic property in the Mayacamas hills,
including the original vines planted by James
Zellerbach in 1953. Together, those estate
vines average 30 years old, providing a wine
with bright red transparency of flavor, like a
ripe pomegranate seed, a crunchy pinot noir
with stamina. The spiciness of the acidity
brings green notes of chrysanthemum and
tangy pink grapefruit, the youthful structure
a combination of freshness and delicacy. The
wine is focused on finesse and longevity-the
estate has a track record for long-lived pinot
noir. (1,194 cases) § -J.G.

SONOMA COUNTY AVA

herbal notes, the rich humus scent reminding one taster of turning over a log in the forest. Enjoy it with brasaola. (500 cases) -J.G. §
522338

90 | Valravn

$25

2019 Sonoma County Pinot Noir (Best
Buy) ^ Rob Fischer blends this wine from a
wide range of vineyards in western Sonoma
County, focusing on the Russian River Valley. It's a pinot noir with simple red cherry
flavors, light tannins and gentle elegance.
There's length and substance to that red fruit
and spice, and the price makes this a wine to
buy by the case. (4,500 cases) -J.G. §

C ALIFORNIA AVA
523693

92 | Au Bon Climat

$50

90 | Landmark Vineyards

$27

2017 California Isabelle Pinot Noir ^ This
is Jim Clendenen's most wide-ranging blend,
combining fruit from at least six different
appellations, as far away as the Anderson
Valley. This wine feels muted at first, with a
scent of mulled berries and fruit blossoms,
a whiff of tobacco and earth. With air the
wine's fruit fills in the center, delivering a
luminous raspberry sweetness that grows in
lift and expression over the course of several
days. That development bodes well for the
wine's cellar life. -P.J.C. (1,125 cases) §
522335
2018 California Overlook Pinot Noir (Best
Buy) ^ This wine's clean flavors of red cherries and currants fill a soft and elegant frame.
It's floral up front, with scents of lavender
and tobacco, lasting on tannins that are
light enough to pour with poached salmon
at brunch. -J.G. §

OREGON
WILL AMETTE VALLEY

S O N O M A M O U N TA I N

C H E H A L E M M O U N TA I N S
520553

95 | Bergström

523766

92 | Donelan

522415

92 | Three Sticks

$95

2018 Sonoma Mountain Cuvée Eva
Marie Pinot Noir ^ Bob Cabral makes this
84

WINE & SPIRITS

APRIL 2021

$55

2015 Sonoma County Two Brothers Pinot
Noir ^ David Milner focuses this wine on two
vineyards, Steiner Ranch on Sonoma Mountain and Devoto, near Sebastopol in Green
Valley. The coastal fruit keeps it youthful and
frisky, while the Sonoma Mountain contribution adds gentle richness. The fresh raspberry
notes are beginning to show their maturity in

$85

2018 Chehalem Mountains Winery Block
Pinot Noir ^ This comes from a two-acre
vineyard adjacent to Josh Bergström's winery on Calkins Lane, the vines spaced so
close that he's farmed it by hand since 2005.
It's a wine of exceptional purity and grace,
from its brambly crushed-raspberry scent to
the modest peppery spice that comes from
whole-bunch pressing and the joyous fruit,
ripe and succulent, with a powder-coating of
fine tannins. It is so captivating I'd recommend opening it now, even though it's built
to age. -P.J.C. (W&S 10/20; 240 cases) §
521477

https://shop.threestickswines.com/Our-Wines/Pinot-Noir

Wine & Spirits - April 2021

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