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BUYINGGUIDE
in Lake County adds fresh cherry and raspberry
aromas to rich, softly spicy fruit and oak flavors.
Smooth and easy in texture, it’s supported by good
acidity and moderate tannnis in a style for which
Barbera is well known in Italy. Editors’ Choice.
—J.G.
abv: 14.3% Price: $28
91
Monte Smith 2014 Pauli Ranch Barbera (Mendocino).
For full review see page 14. Editors’
Choice.
abv: 14.8% Price: $22
90
Naggiar 2014 Reserve Barbera (Sierra Foothills).
Deep color and lots of concentration
make this full-bodied wine stand out. It has smoky,
black-peppery aromas along with ripe but not sweet
blackberry and black-cherry flavors. Firm tannins
add texture. This boldness needs rich food for a
pairing. —J.G.
abv: 14.3% Price: $37
90
Pianetta 2013 Barbera (Central Coast). Allspice,
cinnamon cookies and nutmeg kick
off the nose of this bottling, then come turned earth
and blueberry fruit. Hearty blueberry and blackberry
fruits show on the sip alongside coffee grinds
and cooked meats. It’s quite hearty in structure, but
fruity all around. —M.K.
abv: 14.7% Price: $34
89
Enotria 2012 Barbera (Mendocino County).
Mellow, smooth and lightly spicy, this wine
is well balanced and polished. It shows lots of berry
flavors plus a bit of cedar and cinnamon while
cleansing the palate with good fruit acidity and light
tannins. Editors’ Choice. —J.G.
abv: 14.5% Price: $19
89
Oak Farm Vineyards 2014 Barbera (Lodi).
Apropos of the winery name, this wine has
a beautiful oak blanket wrapped around its cherry
and raspberry flavors. Clove, cinnamnon and cedar
aromas lead to mulled-wine characteristics on the
palate. It’s a very perfumed and attractive wine for
oak lovers. —J.G.
abv: 14.8% Price: $25
86
Naggiar 2014 Barbera (Sierra Foothills).
Gushing blackberry aromas and flavors
along with a lean, rather crisp texture make this
medium-bodied, somewhat tannic wine fun to
drink. It would go with casual and rich foods like
ribs or fried chicken. —J.G.
abv: 13.6% Price: $27
83
Domenico 2011 Barbera (Lake County). An
unusually light brownish color leads to
earthy aromas and subtle earthy, cola-like flavors.
This wine tastes overly mature for its age but is
interesting to taste. —J.G.
abv: 15% Price: $30
95
PINOT NOIR
Lynmar 2014 Monastery Pinot Noir (Russian
River Valley). The new oak is dialed down a
bit to 33% in this memorable red from the producer’s
estate Quail Hill Vineyard. Lovely in every way,
it opens in rose petals and a subtlety of Asian fivespice,
before a succulence of cranberry, rhubarb and
orange unleash a fullness of fruit and lush texture
on the palate. Editors’ Choice. —V.B.
abv: 14.4% Price: $70
95
Lynmar 2014 Summit Block Pinot Noir (Russian
River Valley). Another knockout of this
vintage from this site, a portion within the larger
estate Quail Hill Vineyard, Summit is perfumed
and pretty, full bodied without ever seeming heavy.
Crisp punches of strawberry, cherry and a streak of
lemon tartness please the palate in an endless loop
of complex, velvety texture. —V.B.
abv: 14.5% Price: $80
95
Wedell Cellars 2010 Hillside Vineyard Pinot
Noir (Edna Valley). A prime example of
why Pinot Noir is great to release later in its life,
this six-year-old wine is signing with concentrated
strawberry, iron, dried rose petals, stewed black
cherry and raw beef. The palate is quite earthy but
also packs black plum, vanilla, pepper, thyme and
marjoram into a wondrous and complete package.
Editors’ Choice. —M.K.
abv: 14.5% Price: $125
94
El Lugar 2014 Rincon Vineyards Pinot Noir
(Arroyo Grande Valley). For full review see
page 4.
abv: 13.7% Price: $46
94
Gainey 2014 Limited Selection Pinot Noir
(Sta. Rita Hills). Baked black plum, gingerbread,
dried mint, clove-laden cherry pie and a
touch of light licorice show on the nose of this rich
style of Pinot from the Santa Ynez-based, familyowned
winery. The palate starts with rich blackcherry
fruit, but then dives into an intriguing wash
of thyme, sagebrush and anise, finishing on dried
cranberry and pomegranate. —M.K.
abv: 14.1% Price: $55
94
La Follette 2014 Hawk’s Roost Vineyard
Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley). This wine
is both incredibly pretty and wild, a tenacious quality
of feral forest and ocean at its core. Honeysuckle
and rose provide the beauty first, followed by a
depth of gorgeous cherry, strawberry and rhubarb,
the fruit alive and fresh atop a gravelly texture of
complexity. —V.B.
abv: 14.2% Price: $42
94
Macauley 2014 Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley).
For full review see page 5.
abv: 14.8% Price: $75
94
Melville 2014 Block M Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita
Hills). Lots of red flowers, from roses to
hibiscus, show alongside plump candied red cherries,
exotic Asian spice, black tea and hearty chaparral
herbs on the nose of this bottling. The palate
is heavy with bay leaf, thyme and eucalyptus served
atop a strawberry-cherry base. It’s earthy and
herbal, yet redolent with ripeness. —M.K.
abv: 14% Price: $60
94
Pali 2014 Rancho la Vina Vineyard Pinot
Noir (Sta. Rita Hills). Red plum, white sage,
graphite and iron combine for a well-defined nose
on this bottling from an iconic vineyard in the
region. Winemaker Aaron Walker walks the line
between depth and lightness on the palate, where
light cranberry fruit pairs with smoked meat, oregano
and marjoram seasonings. —M.K.
abv: 14.2% Price: $58
94
Ryan Cochrane 2014 Solomon Hills Vineyard
Pinot Noir (Santa Maria Valley). The
eponymous winemaker of this brand is based in San
Francisco, from which, in this bottling, he turns
out a stunner. Focused, intense, energetic and yet
delicate, the nose is full of just-ripe raspberries,
bay leaf, thyme, eucalyptus and chipped slate. A sip
reveals crushed herbs galore, from oregano to anise,
set against tart pomegranate and red plums. Menthol
shows on the finish. —M.K.
abv: 13.3% Price: $43
94
Small Vines 2014 MK Vineyard Pinot Noir
(Sonoma Coast). This smoky, earthy, soft
and delicate wine comes from an estate vineyard
planted in 1999 in the Occidental Hills. Rose petals
and cranberry mingle effortlessly on the silky palate,
while a bite of black tea and tannin tease on the
finish. —V.B.
abv: 13.5% Price: $82
94
Talbott 2014 Diamond T Vineyard Pinot
Noir (Monterey). Hailing from a precipitously
perched vineyard above Carmel Valley on the
coastal end of the region, this bottling offers baked
red cherries, beets, rhubarb pie, cinnamon spice
and a touch of iron-rich soil on the nose. There’s a
powerful chalky grip to the sip, with rising oregano
and marjoram herbs laid across an earthy core of
deep red fruit and peppercorns. The finish shows
dried mint. —M.K.
abv: 14.3% Price: $52
94
Wedell Cellars 2012 Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita
Hills). English breakfast tea, light plum,
dark strawberry, rhubarb, thyme and lavender swirl
in the heady nose of this bottling. It’s elegant and
floral on the palate, with more lavender and lots
of bergamot and Earl Grey flavors that linger long
through the finish. —M.K.
abv: 14.5% Price: $75
93
Brophy Clark 2014 Pinot Noir (Santa Maria
Valley). Though an appellation blend, this
bottling often comes from a single vineyard and
32 | WINE ENTHUSIAST | MARCH 2017