by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

 

California Pinots
Tasted a few Calif Pinots last week.
Swan Sonoma Pinot Noir '79: Med.slight browning color; lovely complex cedary old RedBurg slight toasted oak nose; tart pungent smokey licorice old RB toasty faded rose petalflavor; med.long toasted pungent smokey licorice old RB finish w/ light tannins; a lovely complex cedary old RB nose but just a bit faded on the palate; has held up very well.
Swan Sonoma Pinot Noir '80: Dark color; rich lush black cherry toasty gamey cedary pungent nose; tart bit tannic sweetish ripe black cherry dusty toasted oak pungent spicy flavor; long tart spicy black cherry toasted/pungent some tannic finish; still lots of fruit but a bit hard & lean on the palate; drink or old for a yr or two; in great condition.
Swan Sonoma Coast Russian RiverValley Estate Pinot Noir '88: Med.light color; attractive Burgundian/toasty oaked minty/menthol some dusty/earthy RRV nose; tart metallic cedary tannic hard light cherry fruit flavor; med.short hard tart lean metallic minty light cherry/root beer tannic finish; a really nice nose but hard & lean & tannic on the palate; doesn't show much development.$20.00
Swan Sonoma Mountain Steiner Vineyard Pinot Noir (Alc: 13.1%) '95: Med.dark color; big ripe lush full of fruit black cherry PN some toasty/oaked nose; soft ripe lush very spicy black cherry/black cherry cola dusty earthy smokey oaked flavor; long some tannic lush black cherry/cola smokey/oaked finish w/ light tannins; needs several yrs; bit softer & not the fruit of the '94 but a really lovely well made Pinot.
Swan Sonoma Mountain Steiner Vineyard Pinot Noir (13.7%) '94: Med.color; attractive meaty spicy black cherry toasty/smokey oaked nose; soft lush sweetish earthy/dusty ripe black cherry/spicy gamey flavor; very long toasty/oaked/pungent ripe black cherry PN finish w/ some tannins; lots of lush ripe black cherry PN fruit w/ some toasty oak; nicelt made Pinot.
Swan Russian River Valley Estate Pinot Noir ((13.6%) '94: Med.dark color; deep dusty/earthy ripe black cherry Pinot pungent very spicy nose; tart bright vibrant ripe cherry PN lots of RB taosty/pencilly/minty flavor; long tart tannic bright cherry PN fruit licorice toasty/pencilly oaked finish; needs 3-6 yrs & will last; a classic Swan Pinot from the days of yore.. big ripe rich; great Pinot.
Gary Farrell Sonoma County Russian River Valley Pinot Noir '95: Med.light color; strong toasty/pencilly smokey/pungent some black cherry/earthy RRV Pinot nose; soft but lean hard tannic low fruit rather thin/astringent flavor; med. hard lean tannic low fruit finish; nice nose but a mean little wine on the palate; a rare clunker for Gary Farrell.
Mueller RRV Emily's Cuvee Pinot Noir (14.2%) '95: Med.light color; very strong burnt/ charred/toasty oaked little fruit some licorice nose; soft low fruit loads of charred pungent burnt flavor; med.long thin very charred/burnt/pungent finish w/ little tannins; some interesting but too much charred oak for the little fruit here.
Lane Tanner Santa Maria Valley Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir '95: Med.color; some herbal/ chile PN very dusty/earthy some black cherry PN nose; tart lean very spicy dusty/earthy some black cherry PN rather toasty/oaked flavor; very long rather dusty/earthy some herbal rather black cherry PN finish w/ some tannins; needs 2-5 yrs; has the classic BN black cherry fruit; best Lane Ranner I've had.
Lane Tanner Santa MariaValley Sierra Madre Plateau Pinot Noir '95: Med.dark color; rather herbal almost vegetal some cherry PN rather toasty/oaked nose; tart lean rather herbal toasty/charred oak complex flavor; very long lean herbal toasty oaked finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; lots of toasty oak but rather lean & herbal in character; interesting PN.
Hartley-Ostini Hitching Post Santa MariaValley Sierra Madre & Riverbench Vineyards Pinot Noir (13.2%) '95: Med.dark color; slight herbal deep dusty earthy toasty oak nose; tart lean herbal spicy cherry toasty/oak flavor; very long tart lean spicy bit herbal toasty/oak finish; needs several yrs; a very interesting spicy lean PN.
Hartley-Ostini Hitching Post Santa MariaValley Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir (13.5%) '95; Dark color; deep lush ripe black cherry/pencilly toasty/oak ripe nose; soft ripe lush black cherry fruit toasty/pungent/oaked licorice ripe flavor; very long lingering lush ripe black cherry pungent/toasty finish w/ some tannins; needs 2-5 yrs; classic BN lush black cherries; best H-O I've had. A real value at $25.00.
Byron Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir (13.1%) '95: Med.color; stinky/stenchy/H2S/burnt rubber charred oak little fruit nose; tart thin lean pungent H2S/sewer gas hard astringent flavor; long hard tannic pungent charred oak stinky finish; needs age and may come around but a gamble; weird stuff.
Bernardus Santa Barbara County Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir (12.7%) '94: Dark color; lots of toasty oak lush ripe licorice some spicy black cherry BN Pinot nose; soft bit muddled lots of toasty oak some licorice/pungent/ripe bit black cherry flavor; med.long soft spicy black cherry toasty oaked finish w/ light tannins nicely done PN but overpriced at $24.70.
Au Bon Climat Santa Barbara County La Bauge Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir (13.2%) '95: Med.dark color lots of toasty/smokey oak lush black cherry PN nose; soft lush ripe spicy loads of black cherry PN fruit almost overripe flavor; long lush bit sour ripe black cherry PN toasty finish w/ light tannins; big ripe lush black cherry PN; a classic Clendennan Pinot.
Foxen Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir (13%) '95: Dark color; very perfumy aromatic slight herbal PN toasty oaked nose; tart lean rather herbal some bright cherry fruit toasty oaked flavor; long very tart lean fragrant bright cherry fruit finish w/ fair tannins; needs 3-6 yrs; an interesting lean hard Pinot that may develop into something very good.

And speaking ex-cathedra:
The early Swan Pinots were some of the first truly great Pinots made in Calif back in the mid-late '70's. When Joe Swan died & Rod Bergland took over, the wines could sometimes be a bit hit-or-miss. I sorta lost interest in the Swan wines & haven't had any of the recent Pinots until these. Since about '92, Rod has been making some really terrific wines; Zins, Rhones, and everything. These Swan Pinots stand up to anything Joe ever made; these are outstanding Pinots. Clearly I winery I should be paying more attention to.
The SantaBarbara Pinots continue to impress; maybe the best Pinots made in Calif; though the RRV is right up there. The early Hartley-Ostinis and Lane Tanners seemed to me to be made too much as ersatz RedBurgs; too little lush Calif fruit for all the toasty oak. The H-O & Lane Tanners are easily the best I've yet had from those wineries. And the Pinot grapes coming out of the Bien Nacido vnyd.... this is probably one of the greatest Pinot vnyds in Calif. Watch for the Ojai Benjamin Lorenzo Pinot '95 (BienNacido grapes) when it comes out.... it's a killer.