Exploring California Pinot Noir

This year, 2013, one of my resolutions was to explore more California Pinot Noir. That's not to say I am unfamiliar with pinot from California, I was afforded many tastes during the nine years I worked in the wine industry there. Most of the "cult" wines graced my glass at one point or another, and I even was on the mailing list for Radio Coteau and Sea Smoke over a period of several years.

As is wont to happen though, my tastes changed (I prefer "evolved"). Right around 2008/2009 I started seeking more pinot noir from Burgundy and Oregon. The typical reasons manifest in my story too; becoming tired with over-ripe and overly alcoholic wines, seeking something new, craving more acidity and red fruit orientation.

Now, with the successive cooler vintages in California, I am anxious to see what is coming from my former home. I hear breathless praise of higher-acid wines with structure and balance coming out of the usual suspects, and the wine forums are buzzing with ever present comparisons to Burgundy and even Oregon. The years 2009, 2010, and 2011 have all gotten praise from various quarters, and after enough of that hype, I decided I wanted to see for myself what was going on. As a blogger, I am enjoying tasting through all these wines, good and bad, and trying to present them to you, reader. Of note to any PR or marketing folks who read this blog, I am continuing to accept California Pinot Noir even as I scale back acceptance of other wines.

Here are some recently tasted examples of pinot noir from California:

2009 La Follette Sangiacomo Vineyard Pinot Noir: Big, brawny nose of tar, smoke, plum/blackberry, and black tea. Some alcoholic heat too. On the palate, very ripe with blackberries and cherries galore, anise, dark chocolate, and sweet plum flesh. Some pepper tickles the edges of the palate, thankfully reducing the abundance of fruit present. The finish is unfortunately a hot mess, literally. Alcoholic heat that stings as it goes down. Unfortunate, because without that, this is a pinot I can see a lot of people really enjoying. Pairs best with big flavors, like steak! $40 SRP. 15.5% abv.

2009 Gary Farrell Russian River Valley Pinot Noir: Muted nose with hints of forest floor, black cherry, and anise notes as a secondary aroma. Some wet-barrel smell came out with swirling. On the palate it's very light-bodied and somewhat bland, the strongest note is the anise. Subtle flavors of dried red currant, cherry, and pleasing minerality do show up eventually though. Nice acidity, keeping the body light and fresh. An easy drinking pinot noir but lacking in character. $32 SRP. 14.2% abv.

2009 Sojourn Pinot Noir Gap's Crown Vineyard Sonoma Coast: Nice red fruit on the nose, with raspberry, strawberry, and spices all balancing each other well. A hint of wood but not bad, as it enhanced the bouquet. There's a juiciness to the bouquet that I found very appealing, as if this wine is bursting with life. On the palate it's definitely young and still sorting itself out. More cherries and strawberries come out, some firm tannin, but a lack of acidity was somewhat disappointing to me. I was hoping for a more textural pinot, this one is smooth and soft, very easy to drink, but a little on the simple side. Still, I have a few more bottles so I'll check in with this again at a later date. $48 SRP.

2009 Sojourn Pinot Noir Russian River Valley: Opens with an intense, raspberry-preserve aroma that carries through to the palate. Hints of pepper try in vain to make themselves known but ultimately get washed out by the raspberry jam. The purity of fruit was itself exceptional, but that was pretty much the only thing going on in this wine. Acidity tarted up the back end but it felt tacked-on, and wasn't at all integrated. No subtlety or nuance here, just pure, hedonistic fruit. $42 SRP.

2010 Siduri Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills: Shows some reduction on the nose but that blows off, revealing aromas of strawberry licorice, pepper, cherries, and spice. Very smooth on the palate with a fun, interesting savory note to temper the sweet red fruit. Flavors of cherry pie, baking spices, and bright red fruit. The finish is clean and tapers off gently. Overall this is a fun, delicious pinot noir from an excellent producer. $25 srp.

2011 Siduri Pinot Noir Sonoma County: Similarly showing a bit of reduction, which in this case blew off faster than in the Sta. Rita Hills bottling. Beyond that, plenty of deliciously tart red fruit, cherry Jolly Rancher, and a bit of wood. On the palate I found this somewhat plain but not lacking for sheer "yum" factor. Lots of flavors of ripe red fruit - think strawberry and raspberry - which themselves have great acidity. Beyond that though, there isn't much going on. $28 srp.

2011 Siduri Pinot Noir Russian River Valley: Very funky at first, showing cola and stem aromas mixed with black cherry and spices. Plenty of ripe fruit starts things on the palate but those flavors are quickly balanced out by some complex wood and spice notes, and an earthy black peppercorn flavor that I was thoroughly enjoying. Lots of funk shows on the palate too but not in a bad way, it fits into the complex nature of this wine. Delicious stuff for under $25 srp.

2011 Hahn Winery Nicky Hahn Pinot Noir California: Pours a beautifully vibrant ruby color in the glass, a testament to its youth. The nose is full of ripe, jammy cherry preserves, baking spice, some woodsy aromas, and a touch of earth. Cherry jam dominates the palate, providing a soft, rich mouthfeel. The baking spices come out to play a little bit on the finish, which in itself is nice if a bit short. 100% pinot noir, according to the data sheet I have. 14.5% abv. $14 retail.

2010 Garnet Vineyards Pinot Noir Carneros: Loads of raspberry and strawberry aromas followed by a bit of white pepper spices. I think there's a bit of funk here too, some nail-polish remover came out as the wine warmed up. I think this pinot is very varietally correct on the palate, with light red fruit, peppery spice, hints of earthy funk, and lots of acidity. The finish is medium length, tapering off nicely, however, the bottle was open about five hours before the finish got to be any reasonable length. It might need a bit of age or an hour in a decanter before it shows all its facets. 13.5% abv. $19 retail.

2009 High Flyer Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands: Immediately I noticed the alcohol on this wine, which seems to fight with intense red fruit aromas and spice. There's a bit of volatile acidity but to me it adds an interetsing facet. Plenty of spicy red cherry and raspberry on the palate, along with a healthy dose of oak. I liked the finish here, after about four hours, because it was so smooth and gentle. Overall, a solid bottle of pinot noir from a producer I've never tasted. $36 srp.

The Siduri wines were the most complete out of any on this list, which just goes to prove that price doesn't always matter. I will contend though that it does matter to some extent whenever you deal with a grape as finicky as pinot noir. Still, the rest of the wines showed themselves quite well at their price points. Admittedly I struggled a little bit with the Sojourn wines, given their critical acclaim, but I suspect I need to get used to that style and perhaps better understand the regions which they come from.

If the above list is any indication, 2013 will be a fun year for me as I continue to explore California Pinot Noir. Keep checking back through the months as I will keep posting whenever I get a nice sample size of wines to taste.

Many of these wines were samples for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

Bruliam Pinot Noir, A Labor of Love

(img src: http://www.pinotfestival.com)

A couple of years ago, back when I still lived in San Diego, I met Kerith and Brian Overstreet. They are childhood friends of my buddy and fellow wine blogger Keith, over at www.brainwines.com. One day at a San Diego Wine Mafia meeting, the Overstreets were there and we got to chatting. I had no idea Kerith was a winemaker, and you know how I get when I meet winemakers (hint: I bug them with questions).

Kerith and her husband are the founders and owners of Bruliam Wines.

As we tasted some wines with the rest of the Mafia, I learned about the origin of their label, Bruliam Wines, and their focus on pinot noir and zinfandel. I think the story is much better told on the website, so I urge you to visit it and watch the cool video about how Bruliam came to be.

I always like to mention this as well; Bruliam wines gives back all their profits to charity. It gets better, because they donate to the charities that you, the wine lover, chooses. Pretty amazing, I agree!

Fast forward a few years and Brian emails me one day asking if I'd like to sample the 2010 pinot noirs they had recently released. Like he had to ask! In the fall of 2010 I tasted the 2009 Bruliam pinot noirs and wrote a feature on the wines, with each of them rating excellent to outstanding on my now-retired scale.

For 2010, Kerith and Brian sourced fruit from three different vineyards in Northern California. Each wine was nudged along in it's journey, emphasizing the place it was grown instead of the winemaker's hands. Since they don't own any vineyards, the fruit sources can change from year to year, making it all the more important to get your hands on these wines ASAP! Also I'll give a sneak peek here: For 2011, Bruliam has added the famous Gap's Crown Vineyard to their list of fruit sources. I can't wait to try that one..In 2014 of course.

Let's get on with my impressions of the wines then. These were all tasted at room temperature, about 30 minutes after being opened.

2010 Bruliam Deer Meadows Vineyard Anderson Valley Pinot Noir: I immediately noticed ripe black fruit, cherries and blackberries, warm baking spice, and cola on the nose.This pinot is big and smooth, at once lively yet with some peppery acidity. Good dark fruit flavor along with a subtle, herbaceous note. Some oak flavors, woodsy with a hint of dark chocolate. There is nicely integrated tannin, but it stops somewhat short on the finish. The acidity is firm, but this is a baby, and will better integrate with more time in bottle. If you're going to drink this now, decant for a few hours. $46 SRP.

2010 Bruliam Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir: The bouquet has loads of baked cherry and rhubarb, black pepper, black tea, and spice. I loved the balance between the fruit and other aromas. I think this is very young, showing  restrained flavors of grape stem, black tea, wild raspberries, and black cherry. What flavors are showing right now are delicious and well integrated with a nice streak of acidity. I found a slightly perceptible alcoholic heat on the bouquet that carried over into the palate, but it should go away with age. The finish is a burst of spice and white pepper, something I love about great quality pinot noirs. $46 SRP.

2010 Bruliam Wildcat Mountain Vineyard Sonoma Coast: Aromas of bright, fresh strawberry and rhubarb, along with cola and cherry blossom. Pine sap provides a welcome element to contrast the fruit. On the palate I felt this was showing traditional Sonoma Coast flavors; it expressed ripe strawberry and baking spice along with a subtle earthiness. Also noted were touches of oak, black pepper, and grape stem. The strawberry persists through the finish, very impressive. Not much tannin noted, compared to the other Bruliam wines. This is the wine I'd drink now, while cellaring the other bottles for 5-10 years. $46 SRP.



After I wrote these reviews, I learned that Wine Enthusiast had shown some love to the Bruliam pinot noirs, giving the Wildcat Mountain an 89 points, the Deer Meadows 90 points, and the Soberanes Vineyard 93 points! That's convincing proof that the Overstreet's are doing something right, and should encourage you to buy up these wines before they're all gone.

To purchase the Bruliam wines, visit their website.

Tasting the Bruliam pinot noirs was great fun, I opened 10 pinot's from around the state that day and these three were the clear winners. If Kerith and Brian can maintain this level of quality, Bruliam Wines will continue it's upward trajectory into the rarefied ranks of California pinot noir producers showing restraint while creating texturally interesting, nuanced wines.

You can follow Bruliam on Twitter or visit the Bruliam Wines facebook page.

These wines were media samples.

Beau Carufel