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Top 100 Wines 2009: Pinot Noir
Jon Bonné

We were literally awash in seas of Pinot this year. The wine’s hotness persists, even as prices have floated north and the appetite for expensive wine has floated south. But some of the most compelling examples hovered below the top tier. That isn’t to say these aren’t spendy wines, but sometimes there’s as much pleasure to be found in, say, Merry Edwards’ Sonoma Coast bottling or the Stoller JV as in their very top wines. It’s a reminder that success can arrive in more modest forms.

Read the full review.

Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
Jon Bonné

Drew, with his wife, Molly, runs a tiny operation in the seaside hamlet of Elk, due west of the valley. He produces increasingly compelling Pinots under 14 percent alcohol, including his Fog Eater blend (Boontling again) and a new effort from the Monument Tree vineyard in the valley's northern "deep end."

Their success signals Anderson Valley's forward potential. Its cloak of obscurity may be gone, but its ability to produce deep, edgy Pinot Noir hasn't wavered.

2007 Drew Fog Eater Anderson Valley Pinot Noir A floral punch adds tension to bright flavors of shaved cherry ice and an intense dry-earth complexity. Drew's limited Monument Tree bottling took time to open but blossomed into sweet huckleberry and dense forest-floor scents. Both are momentous and cellar-worthy.

Read the full review.

Robert Parker's
Wine Advocate #184

The 2007 Syrah Broken Leg Vineyard (14.5% alcohol) exhibits cool climate characteristics of fresh raspberry and blue fruits along with abundant spring flower notes. A mid-weight Syrah with beautiful penetration, elegance, and finesse, medium body, and attractive vibrancy, purity, and overall harmony. It should drink well for 5-7 years. 90 points

The finesse-styled, elegant, medium-bodied 2007 Syrah Valenti Vineyard reveals similar characteristics of spring flowers, dark raspberries, and sweet and sour cherries. It is slightly more powerful with a bigger textural impact than the Broken Leg cuvee. It, too should age nicely for 5-7 years. 90 points

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar
May Issue, 2009

Pinot Noir Fog-Eater Anderson Valley 2007
Good full red. Aromas of cherry skin, dried flowers and herbs. Juicy and penetrating, with a light touch to its tangy red fruit, spice and mineral flavors. A graceful pinot with lovely subtle sweetness and excellent spicy length. And the alcohol here is a moderate 13.7%. 92 points

Syrah Valenti Vineyard Anderson Valley 2007
Medium red-ruby. Sexy aromas of currant, mocha, maple sugar, pepper and brown spices. Suave in texture, with a saline, peppery lift to the spicy middle palate. A rather uncompromising and idiosyncratic wine that finishes with fine-grained tannins and a repeating note of fruity pepper. 91 points

Pinot Noir Monument Tree Vineyard Anderson Valley 2007
Good bright, full red. Sappy framboise, spicecake and dried flowers on the nose, plus a whiff of Burgundian underbrush. Lusher and silkier than the Fog Eater but without quite that wine's definition. Smooth flavors of sweet, subtle raspberry, spices and sexy oak offer good richness without any undue weight. Finishes broad but with a light touch. 91 points

Syrah Perli Vineyard Potato Patch Mendocino Ridge 2007
Good ruby-red. Pepper, chocolate and menthol on the nose, plus a whiff of medicinal cherry. Broad, rich and tactile, with good sweetness but also a savory saline quality to the currant and pepper flavors. The lushest of these three syrahs. Finishes with smooth, sweet tannins and good peppery lift and length. These soil-driven syrahs are not about primary fruit or high alcohol and come across as distinctly Old World in style. 91 points

Syrah Broken Leg Vineyard Anderson Valley 2007
Good ruby-red. Crushed dark berries, mocha, brown spices and a whiff of chocolatey oak on the nose. Dense and broad but not particularly sweet, showing more soil and spice tones and tactile minerality than primary fruits. Finishes with fine tannins and good peppery persistence. 90 points

Pinot Noir Weir Vineyard Yorkville Highlands 2007
Medium red. Subdued nose dominated by cinnamon spiciness. Fat but juicy on entry, combining flavors of pomegranate, black raspberry and spices. Tightens up toward the back, finishing with spice and cola notes and very good sappy lift. Nicely rich but with a light touch for 14% alcohol. 90 points

Wine Spectator

Pinot Noir, Yorkville Highlands, Weir Vineyard, 2007
92 points
Pure, vivid wild berry and blackberry fruit is both supple and tightly focused. Medium-bodied, long and persistent on the finish, where this picks up a pleasant spicy, earthy edge. Drink now through 2013. 206 cases made. –JL

Pinot Noir, “Fog Eater” Anderson Valley, 2007
90 points
Clean and pure, this is marked by spicy, earthy cherry, wild berry and raspberry fruit that's crisp and medium-bodied, ending with a long, lingering finish. Drink now through 2011. 467 cases made. –JL

Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, Savoy Vineyard, 2007
90 points
Pure, trim and focused, with ripe, vibrant black cherry and raspberry flavors delivered on a beam. Elegant, crisp acidity keeps the flavors fresh and lively. Drink now through 2012. 216 cases made. –JL

Pinot Noir, Gatekeeper, Sta. Rita Hills, 2007
88 points
Marked by a racy, zesty, slightly herbaceous edge, which joins trim, tart wild berry and strawberry fruit. Elegant, balanced and distinctive. Drink now through 2014. 426 cases made

Syrah, Anderson Valley, Valenti Vineyard, 2007
90 points
Fresh and vibrant crushed berry and peppery flavors are pure and focused, intense without being heavy. This holds its focus and firms up on the finish. Drink now through 2013. 100 cases made. –JL

Wine & Spirits
June 2009 edition

Pinot Noir, McDougall Ranch, Sonoma Coast 2007 96 points
Last year, we recommended the 2006 vintage of this wine with a similar score (95 points). It grows on a coastal ridge near Fort Ross, just north of Hirsch Vineyards, where Warren Dutton helped the McDougall family plant nine acres of pinot noir in 1998. At altitudes around 1,000 feet, the vines rise above the fogline, their fruit ripening to a sweet earthiness. The 2007 is a bold and demanding wine, firm, spicy and a little blunt when first poured. Over the course of several days, the wine's complexity and varietal integrity emerges, with an emphasis on earthy and expressive tannin rather than simple fruit. It has drive and tension, wrapped in potential energy for now, built for ten years or more in the cellar.

Pinot Noir, Monument Tree Vineyard, Anderson Valley, 2007 94 points
From the northwest "Deep End" of Anderson Valley, this cool, coastal site includes 15 acres of Dijon clones planted in 1999. This is Drew's first vintage from Monument Tree, and it's a beauty. Think of the forest mushrooms of Mendocino, of the crimson skin of fresh-picked apples from an Anderson Valley orchard, of the moss growing at the base of the apple trees. There's a surety and exactness to the wine that keeps it firm and refined, even as the texture expands with air to something more voluptuous. For anything roasted with chanterelles, whether fish, veal or chicken.

Pinot Noir, “FogEater”, Anderson Valley, 2007 93 points
Fog-Eater is Drew's multivineyard blend from Anderson Valley, highlighting sites influenced by the coastal fog. The '07 comes from Balo Vineyard in Philo and Valenti Vineyard, on a 1,300-foot ridgetop six miles from the ocean. It's a bold pinot noir, sitting tight within its structure until a day or two of air reveals the fragrant red berry flavors and dark complexities of the wine-from pomegranate pith to blood oranges and puer tea. The texture, hard at first, turns silken, emphasizing the exotic spice of the tannin. A lasting textural pleasure, this is suited to rare roast beef.

Pinot Noir, Weir Vineyard, Yorkville Highlands 2007 92 points
From two blocks at Bill Weir's vineyard, one planted to a selection said to be from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti; another from the Rochioli River Block. It's an austere pinot in the 2007 vintage, extremely tight at first, with a smoky, steely edge to the tannin. The fruit fills out the edges with air, expanding to scents of wild raspberry and conifer forest. Give this several years in the cellar, then serve with roast quail.

Pinot Noir, Savoy Vineyard, Anderson Valley 2007 92 points
The first release of Drew's wine from Rich Savoy's vineyard in Philo, this includes a range of clones, predominantly Pommard and Calera, planted from 1992 through 1998. It's a dense wine, with floral scents of rose and intense flavors somewhere between cherry tomato and cherry. Integrated and substantial, this needs time to grow into its structure. With some age, its spicy, bold richness will match beef ribs.

Spotlight on a Star in the Making: Drew

Rusty Gaffaney, "The Prince of Pinot" visited us recently:

Since 2005, Jason’s wines have drawn my attention as well as many well-deserved accolades from the wine press. Last year, Drew was chosen as one of the Wineries of the Year by Wine & Spirits magazine. He is a gifted artisan producer of wine and drawing from grape sources as diverse as Sta. Rita Hills, Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley, he consistently produces Pinot Noirs that show great purity of fruit, balance and structure to predict age ability.

I would recommend you join the list to obtain these limited production gems for this is a star in the making.

Click here to go to the PinotFile website, then click on the Spotlight on a Star in the Making: Drew link to read the full interview and tasting notes.

McDougall Ranch 2006 Pinot Noir
Delicate, fragrant floral, raspberry, wild berry and cherry flavors are evenly distributed in this elegant and graceful young Pinot that ends with a long, supple, lingering finish. Drink now through 2011 92 points.

Gatekeeper 2006 Pinot Noir
Clay and fresh earth give way to sweet ripe black cherry and red plum fruit that's supple and polished, with delicate blueberry and wild berry scents that are long and persistent. Drink now through 2011. 90 points.

The McDougall Ranch 2006 Pinot Noir headed the list of 108 wines in Wine & Spirits Year's Best Pinot:

...the pinot lives just above the fog, where it grew in 2006 to optimal maturity - vibrant in both color and flavor, dark and savory, with a lift in the end. The flavor is somewhere between cherry and pomegranate; the tannins taste salty, with mouthwatering life. Catch a bottle now with plank-roasted salmon, or five years from now with roast quail." 95 Points

Wine & Spirits also awarded points to the Weir 2006 Pinot Noir (92 points) and theFog-Eater 2006 Pinot Noir (90 points).

Open Your Wallet for Pinot Pleasure

Recently, the Prince of Pinot offered this advice: Confiscate your wife’s Nordstrom credit card and subscription to Vogue magazine, cancel your kid’s cell phone account, discontinue any superfluous insurance premiums, start riding your bike to work, anything to save some money for the following Pinot Noirs.

2006 Cargasacchi-Jalami Vineyard Potbelly Block
This is a young wine and the nose is quite subdued with subtle notes of red cherry, grass and sanded wood. The lovely red Pinot fruits are accented with herbal and woodsy flavors. Light in body and offering some finesse and lively acidity, this is a good food wine whose flavors trump the aromas at this stage.

2006 McDougall Ranch Sonoma Coast
7-acre vineyard at 1,300 feet four miles from Pacific Ocean. Rich cherry aromas with a little plum, rhubarb and sawdust. Darker stone fruits are featured with a charming earth and herbal note on the finish. Plenty of dirt here. The texture is plush with gossamer tannins. Alcohol is well-integrated. A clean, lingering finish draws you to another sip.

2006 Weir Vineyard Yorkville Highlands
Weir Vineyard is 15 acres which includes rare DRC and Rochioli selections. Very enviable aromas of mineral-inflected black cherry fruit, strawberry and cookie dough. Highly likeable raspberry and strawberry fruit flavors with a glamorous fruity aftertaste accentuated with spice and a little white pepper. The fruity finish sneaks up and expands in the mouth over a minute - very sexy. The demure presentation of fruit is very attractive. I like this wine a lot and it is admirable for its perfect balance and purity. The best from this appellation I have ever sampled. Hock your kids for this one.

2006 Fog-Eater Anderson Valley
Made from two Anderson Valley vineyards heavily influenced by coastal fog. This wine has the most flamboyant aromatics of the lineup with spiced cherries, watermelon, fresh sawn oak and a little barnyard.
Plenty of lovable Pinot fruits, fine-grained tannins which could use some time to shed, and velvety texture.
Doesn’t have the twinkle that the Weir has, but perfectly fine in its own right.

Sweet currants, cherries, and a bit of sassafras and spice comprise the medium ruby-colored 2005 Pinot Noir Weir Vineyard (89 poins) from the Yorkville Highlands (a site made famous by the well-known winery Williams-Selyem in the Russian River). The wine is medium to full-bodied, tightly knit, but beautifully pure and nicely concentrated. It still needs another year or so to be fully expressive, but this is a well-made Pinot Noir.
The 2005 Pinot Noir Fog-Eater (90 points) exhibits a slightly deeper ruby color and a beautiful nose of blueberry, raspberry, and cherry that soars from the glass. Elegant, fresh, and vibrant, with the fruit clearly running the show here, this wine can be drunk now or cellared for 3-4 years.

First Team Pinot Noir All-Americans
2005 Drew Fog-Eater Anderson Valley

Drew 2005 Fog-Eater Pinot Noir
95 Points Editors Choice
"Really just about the perfect Anderson Valley Pinot in terms of the beautifully crisp acidity, and the way the wine blasts pure flavors of red cherries, cassis and raspberries across the palate. With 30% new French oak, this opulence is made more exotic with notes of caramel, butterscotch, vanilla and toast. Combines all this massive power with elegant finesse in a effortless way."

Steve Pitcher reviewed the "best presented" Pinot Noirs at the 10th annual Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival in Philo.

93 Drew, 2005 Fog Eater Pinot Noir
Anderson Valley
From one of the chilliest microclimates in Anderson Valley's Deep End, this exciting Pinot offers enticing aromas of red cherry, strawberry and raspberry that are pure and focused. Silky smooth and luscious with medium tannins, the wine's complex flavors revolve around spicy red fruit, blackberry and a hint of cedar that linger long in the close.