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is treated with great care, resulting in a complete
package. That starts with baked red cherry, mulberry
and tangy plum on the nose, dusted with nutmeg
and hickory smoke. The intriguing flavor profile
offers tangy black raspberry, suave hibiscus and
other red-flower touches along with clove stick and
cinnamon spice. —M.K.
abv: 14.2% Price: $36
93
Bruliam 2014 Soberanes Vineyard Pinot Noir
(Santa Lucia Highlands). Hearty sagebrush,
rust and dust meet with dried Montgomery cherry
and tart pomegranate aromas on the nose of this
bottling from a Healdsburg-based producer. It’s luscious
on the palate with ripe plum fruit and tons of
baking spice, from cinnamon to clove cream, nutmeg
and vanilla. —M.K.
abv: 14.4% Price: $46
93
Cakebread 2014 Two Creeks Vineyards Pinot
Noir (Anderson Valley). For full review see
page 6. Editors’ Choice.
abv: 14.9% Price: $42
93
Couloir 2014 John Sebastiano VIneyard Pinot
Noir (Sta. Rita Hills). Baked black cherry and
black plum meet with lots of crushed gravel and
light fennel on the nose of this bottling that is all
about fruit and earth, rather than herb and spice.
Tart red plum and sour raspberry show upon the
palate’s gravelly texture, but darker red fruit awaits
in the midpalate along with char and a touch of soy.
—M.K.
abv: 13.4% Price: $52
93
El Lugar 2014 Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot
Noir (Santa Maria Valley). For full review see
page 6.
abv: 13.4% Price: $46
93
Kynsi 2013 Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir
(Santa Maria Valley). Turned earth is very
apparent on the nose of this bottling from the historic
vineyard, with crushed shale and loam dust as
well as cinnamon spice and a red-cherry backbone.
The sip shows deep pomegranate and black-raspberry
fruit with gingerbread, hibiscus and a touch
of thyme. It’s rich in the midpalate, with extreme
spice throughout. —M.K.
abv: 13.8% Price: $45
93
Kynsi 2013 Stone Corral Vineyard Pinot Noir
(Edna Valley). Deep aromas of hibiscus, rose
buds, dark red berries and sugar plums are spiced
up by cola, crushed pencils and lots of garrigue on
this bottling. The palate is clean and crisp, with
snappy raspberry, light cranberry and lots more
chaparral-like herbs, including wild thyme, bay laurel,
lavender and fennel pollen. —M.K.
abv: 13.5% Price: $48
93
Lincourt 2014 Rancho Santa Rosa Pinot Noir
(Sta. Rita Hills). For full review see page 7.
abv: 14.1% Price: $30
93
Loring Wine Company 2015 Garys’ Vineyard
Pinot Noir (Santa Lucia Highlands). Deep,
rich aromas of baked plum, rhubarb pie, star anise,
red cinnamon, forest floor and gingerbread show on
this nose of this wine from a vineyard planted by the
two Garys, Pisoni and Franscioni. The palate is full
of baked raspberry and cinnamon-and-clove-spiced
cookies, remaining elegant and layered throughout
the sip. —M.K.
abv: 14.3% Price: $54
93
Loring Wine Company 2015 Rancho La Viña
Vineyard Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills). A brilliant
combination of rich fruit, hearty spice and
lovely florality shows on the nose of this bottling
by Brian Loring, conveying deep red cherry, cola,
rose buds, hibiscus, star anise, dark clove and mace.
The palate recalls baked goods laced with allspice
and drizzled in black-plum sauce. The richness is
attention-grabbing. —M.K.
abv: 14.3% Price: $54
93
Nielson by Byron 2014 Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita
Hills). Comprised solely of old-school Swan
and Calera clones, this bottling offers red cherrycinnamon-mocha
foam on the well-integrated, multilayered
nose, along with some heartier plum and
vanilla. It tightens on the sip to reveal strawberry
fruit but also oregano, raw beef and lots of florality.
—M.K.
abv: 14.8% Price: $45
93
Pali 2014 Huber Vineyard Pinot Noir (Sta.
Rita Hills). Hibiscus and raspberry mesh
with lots of iron and a touch of smoke on the nose
of this bottling from a vineyard that the winery
leases. That iron and rust character shows on the
palate too, up against a dried strawberry and ripe
cranberry backdrop. Flinty minerality and minty
herbs enhance this light and lithe wine that is full
of character. —M.K.
abv: 13.1% Price: $54
93
Peake Ranch 2014 Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills).
This is the first round of wines from this
project by John Wagner, who owns parts of Sierra
Madre and John Sebastiano vineyards, and winemaker
Paul Lato. Black-plum skins, roasted game,
anise and sandalwood aromas show on the nose.
Earthy and zesty, the palate delivers cranberry-beet
juice along with roasted fennel, eucalyptus oil and
bitter Earl Grey tea touches. —M.K.
abv: 14.3% Price: $40
93
Rideau 2014 La Encantada Vineyard Pinot
Noir (Sta. Rita Hills). From one of the more
popular vineyards in the appellation, this bottling
shows strawberry fruit, allspice, black pepper, candied
cherry and cinnamon on the nose. A strong
sizzle of acidity marks the sip, with intriguingly
deep raspberry, tangy cranberry, white pepper and
crushed-slate flavors. Though light in body, it is
heavy in flavors. —M.K.
abv: 13.3% Price: $46
93
Scar of the Sea 2014 Seven Leagues Pinot
Noir (Santa Maria Valley). Though this is
their appellation blend, Mikey Giugni and Michael
Brughelli don’t hold back, offering elegant aromas of
rose petals, purple flowers, rich pomegranate fruit,
rusty strawberries and light vanilla on the nose. The
palate begins with a light cranberry-raspberry flavor
that deepens into tart mulberry before showing
dried rose petals, uncrushed clove and a lava-rock
minerality. —M.K.
abv: 13.7% Price: $46
93
Small Vines 2014 Baranoff Vineyard Estate
Grown Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley).
From a vineyard planted in rocky red soil, this wine
shows a depth of concentrated and intense cranberry
and black tea. It’s currently youthful in feel,
with structured tannins and full, rich chocolate and
coffee flavors. It will benefit from time in the cellar,
so enjoy 2020–2024. Cellar Selection. —V.B.
abv: 13.2% Price: $82
93
Small Vines 2014 TBH Vineyard Pinot Noir
(Sonoma Coast). A first-release from this
site, this is a balanced, lightly textured wine, pretty
in rose and lavender, with an intriguing shock of
white pepper. Baked cherry and plum find companionship
in savory clove and cinnamon on the delicate
palate. —V.B.
abv: 13.2% Price: $82
93
Thomas Fogarty 2013 Kent Berry Vineyard
Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mountains). This bottling
kicks off with a strikingly distinct aromatic
profile recalling an elegant fruit punch, with hibiscus,
raspberry sorbet, sour-cherry candy, sandalwood,
incense and an underlying anise scent. Plump
raspberry shows on the rounded red-fruit palate,
with a minty, herbal touches of cedar and tobacco.
—M.K.
abv: 12.6% Price: $50
93
Transcendence 2014 La Encantada Vineyard
Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills). Cola, smoked
cherries, rhubarb, earthy beets, crushed cloves and
a touch of iron show on the nose of this wine by
Kenneth Joey Gummere. The attention-grabbing
texture on the grippy palate unleashes flavors of
earthy rhubarb, beet, rose hips and a touch of mint.
—M.K.
abv: 13.9% Price: $45
93
Wedell Cellars 2011 The Row Find Pinot Noir
(Sta. Rita Hills). Gravel, chaparral, sagebrush,
mulberry and fig aromas show on the nose
of this bottling from a distinct row of grapes. The
strong herbal profile on the palate ranges from oregano
and marjoram to thyme, rosemary and a touch
of juniper, all set against black-plum fruit. It’s firmly
structured, very dry and deftly restrained. —M.K.
abv: 14.5% Price: $110
93
Wolff 2013 Dijon Clones Selection Pinot Noir
(Edna Valley). Bright and ready-to-burst
flavors of raspberry and just-ripe cranberry show
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