BUYING GUIDE - Wine Enthusiast Magazine

Anderson Valley Pinot Noir. This shows flavors of sour
cherry candy, persimmon and spice flavors, grounded
with minerals. Drink now, with decanting, or age it for
up to six years. —S.H.
abv: 14.6% Price: $66
91
Vine Hill 2008 Barrel 31 Pinot Noir (Santa
Cruz Mountains). Stylistically, this Pinot is
right in the middle of the big, blowsy style and the more
austere, low-alcohol style. It’s balanced, dry and rich in
cherry and raspberry-pie flavors, with an opulent overlay
of sweet, smoky oak. Drink now–2015. —S.H.
abv: 14.1% Price: $34
90
Ampelos 2010 Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills).
This young wine brims with fresh acidity and
primary cherry, blackberry and cola flavors. The complexity
is considerable and so is the elegance. It feels
graceful and silky in the mouth, despite the power of the
fruit. Should hit its peak in two or three years. —S.H.
abv: 13.8% Price: $25
90
Babcock 2010 Deja Vu Pinot Noir (Paso
Robles). Made in a ripe, rich style, this is a
big, fruity wine. It’s has a potent black-cherry jam flavor
that’s simply delicious. Atypical for Pinot Noir, but
there’s no denying how good it tastes. —S.H.
abv: 14.1% Price: $60
90
Buena Vista 2008 Otelia’s Selection Pinot
Noir (Sonoma Coast). A ripe Pinot Noir—it’s
a little forward and jammy, but its acids and tannins are
well balanced. Oak is there in the background, bringing
subtle toast influence to the cherries and pomegranates.
Drink now–2015. —S.H.
abv: 14.5% Price: $45
90
Cumbre of Vine Hill 2008 Hicks Family
Vineyard Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mountains).
Big, rich and fruity, with fantastically ripe cherry
and Dr. Pepper flavors that are elevated by a note
of sweet sandalwood, and brightened with crisp acidity.
Impresses for sheer power, as well as the long, spicy finish.
This is too young to drink now; it needs 5–6 years to
mellow. Cellar Selection. —S.H.
abv: 13.8% Price: $49
90
Cumbre of Vine Hill 2008 Rafaelli Vineyard
Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mountains).
Very rich and sumptuous, if a little heavy. It’s delicious
and complex, with cherry, mocha and red currant flavors
that finish sweet and spicy. You’ll experience a hit of tannins
that provides structure, but makes the wine slightly
unaccessible. Aging is a gamble, given a certain pruniness
on the finish. —S.H.
abv: 14.3% Price: $49
90
MacMurray Ranch 2009 Pinot Noir (Sonoma
Coast). For full review see page 10.
abv: 13.9% Price: $27
90
Maggy Hawk 2009 Hawkster Pinot Noir
(Anderson Valley). This feels dramatic from
the start. It’s silky and refined in texture, with brisk acidity
and a bite of tannic astringency. It shows a rich core
of cherry, cola and sandalwood flavors. This should hang
in there over the next five years. —S.H.
abv: 15.4% Price: $66
90
Vine Hill 2009 Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz
Mountains). Rich and satisfying, it has a ton
of cherry and cola fruit that is wrapped into firm tannins
and made brisk with acidity. The finish is dry and spicy.
Not an ager, but it’s a beautiful wine to drink now with
a great steak. —S.H.
abv: 13.9% Price: $30
88
Armanino Family Cellars 2010 The Pintail
Doctor’s Vineyard Pinot Noir (Santa
Lucia Highlands). A voluptuous wine that shows its
sunny California origins in the ripe cherry and raspberry
flavors. It’s delicious on a purely hedonistic level, showing
the dynamism of a Highlands Pinot Noir, even if it
lacks some structural subtlety and dryness. —S.H.
abv: 15.2% Price: $55
88
Babcock 2010 Microcosm Pinot Noir
(Sta. Rita Hills). Rich, dry and pretty full-bodied
for a Pinot Noir, this is stuffed with flavors of cherry
pie and cola, made brisk by acidity. A little heavy, but
sound and complex. —S.H.
abv: 14.2% Price: $60
88
Babcock 2010 Precocious Pinot Noir
(Santa Barbara County). Delicious in its
own way, with a soft, gentle mouthfeel framing upfront
flavors of raspberry, cherry, vanilla, toast and pie spice.
Drink now with a steak or a lamb chop. —S.H.
abv: 13.8% Price: $60
88
Center of Effort 2009 Pinot Noir (Edna
Valley). This is a big, fruity effort, with ripe flavors
of cherries, raspberries, dates and spicy toast. Brisk
Central Coast acidity brings a tart, cranberry bite to the
richness. Drink now. —S.H.
abv: 14.9% Price: $40
88
Lafond 2009 SRH Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita
Hills). This is Lafond’s entry-level Pinot, and it’s
arguably the best SRH in years. The vintage was kind,
offering long hangtime fruit, while preserving vital acidity.
With savory cherry flavors and some firm tannins, it’s
a fine wine to drink with lamb or steak. —S.H.
abv: 14.8% Price: $27
88
Lucia 2010 Garys’ Vineyard Pinot Noir
(Santa Lucia Highlands). Will appeal
broadly to many Pinot lovers for its soft, lush array of
flavor. Raspberries, cherries, red currants, licorice and
bacon all lead to a long, spicy finish. Trades complexity
for immediate appeal, so drink up. —S.H.
abv: NA Price: $50
88
Lynmar 2010 Terra de Promissio Pinot
Noir (Sonoma Coast). This is enormously
rich in berry, cherry and cola flavor. It’s flashy, but
not particularly subtle as a Pinot Noir should be, and it
veers on being a little heavy. —S.H.
abv: 14.6% Price: $70
88
Occidental Road Cellars 2008 Horseshoe
Bend Vineyard Pinot Noir (Russian
River Valley). This has plenty of cherry, red licorice,
cola and spice flavors that are wrapped into firm tannins.
Long on the finish, this is a very good example of a
Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. —S.H.
abv: 14.8% Price: $34
88
Two Sisters 2009 Lindsay’s Vineyard Pinot
Noir (Sta. Rita Hills). Enormously jammy
in raspberries and cherries, this is almost sweet, like
spicy dessert-pastry filling. There’s good acidity and
even a bite of grippy tannins, but the wine is so powerful
it lacks subtlety. —S.H.
abv: 14.5% Price: $75
87
Annabella 2010 Special Selection Pinot
Noir (Carneros). There are lot’s of cherry,
cola, sandalwood and exotic spice flavors in this Pinot
Noir. It’s dry and silky, with a nice crispness from the
acidity. —S.H.
abv: 14.5% Price: $17
87
Babcock 2010 Ocean’s Ghost Pinot Noir
(Sta. Rita Hills). The alcohol is nice and low
in this dry Pinot Noir. It has a silky texture and complex
flavors of red cherries, persimmons, cola and spices.
Acidity is great but there’s something slightly off, suggesting
a trace of unripeness. Drink now. —S.H.
abv: 14% Price: $60
87
Champ de Reves 2010 Pinot Noir (Anderson
Valley). Edgy and sharp now, with a cut of
acidity giving a rustic bite to the cherry, blackberry and
toasty oak flavors. Hard to see it aging well, so give it a
good decant and drink now. —S.H.
abv: 14.2% Price: $40
87
Morgan 2010 Twelve Clones Pinot Noir
(Santa Lucia Highlands). The first of Morgan’s
2010 Pinots to be released, it shows promise for
the winery’s single-vineyard bottlings. Dry and firm in
acidity and tannins, it’s a big, strong wine, packed with
cherry pie flavor. —S.H.
abv: 13.9% Price: $32
87
Rancho Sisquoc 2010 Flood Family Vineyards
Pinot Noir (Santa Barbara County).
Tastes plummy, jammy and spicy, with lots of wood tannins
and a long finish. It’s a good Pinot Noir that will
pair well with steak. —S.H.
abv: 13.8% Price: $30
86
Babcock 2010 Psi Clone Pinot Noir (Sta.
Rita Hills). Right out of the bottle, this wine
smells and tastes tight and unappealing. It’s marked by
drying tannins and earthiness, giving it a rustic quality.
Still, there’s a good core of cherry fruit. —S.H.
abv: 14.2% Price: $60
86
Chamisal Vineyards 2011 Stainless Unoaked
Pinot Noir (Edna Valley). This unoaked
wine is rich and tasty in cherries and black raspberries,
but the truth is that a little oak seasoning could
make it better. —S.H.
abv: 14.1% Price: $24
86
Lucia 2010 Pinot Noir (Santa Lucia Highlands).
This is ripe and fruity wine. A hit of
acidity lends some structure to the raspberry, cherry
and cola flavors. —S.H.
abv: NA Price: $40
86
Maggy Hawk 2009 Jolie Pinot Noir (Anderson
Valley). This is a good Pinot Noir, although
it’s a bit off here and there. Dry, crisp and silky, it
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