California pinot noirs that garner high scores from the wine media these days are showy, flamboyant, dark-colored at the core, quite viscous, wonderfully lush, surprisingly opulent and often oak-laden.
By comparison, I recently tasted a pinot noir that I found stunning — in a very different style. It was elegant, highly refined, lighter in hue, transparent, alluring and lovely. But, sadly, this style of wine is not what’s in fashion — it probably would receive a score of under 90 points from the major wine media.
Wine preference is highly subjective, and there are appropriate occasions to enjoy each style in any wine category. But someone who buys wines based on media scores and accolades could miss out on wines like that stunning pinot I tasted the other night. And that would be a shame. It was just too good to miss.
Here are a few renditions of California pinot noir that follow along the lines of what I experienced. Each is from a different wine-growing appellation, just to show what you can find with a little bit of searching.
>> 2015 Melville Pinot Noir “Estate — Santa Rita Hills” (about $34 a bottle): I love the allure and loveliness of this “estate” bottling from the family-owned Melville vineyard and winery down in the Santa Rita Hills appellation. Son Chad Melville is now overseeing both the grape growing and the winemaking, and he is highly talented.
The quality is definitely in the bottle for what I would say is a surprisingly reasonable price.
>> 2014 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir “La Bauge Au-dessus” (about $35): Owner-winemaker Jim Clendenen has been crafting his superbly elegant, wonderfully ethereal and masterfully textured pinot noirs for well over 25 years. He works his magic with finesse, nuance and Old World sensibilities, and the wines often are underscored and overlooked because of this.
However, if you have the chance to try this same wine with 10 years of bottle age, you probably will be flabbergasted with each sip.
It makes me wonder how man can grow and create something like this — it is a product that has very little to do with the grape, the oak barrel and the winemaking, and more to do with the soil the roots are planted in and what that soil wants to say.
>> 2014 Scherrer Pinot Noir “Sonoma County” (about $34): I have been a huge fan of winemaker-owner Fred Scherrer and his wines for a long time. I love how pretty, sheer, finely detailed and superbly textured and balanced his wines can be, and yet how well priced they are, at least compared with bottlings from his peers. His is another true artisan winery from which I have had the opportunity to sample older “library” bottles, and I have really been wowed.
Youthful or slightly aged, this wine and winery are worth seeking out. And I suggest you do so quickly, before they really get “discovered.”
>> 2015 Neyers Pinot Noir “Placida Vineyard” (about $39): Neyers is a standout winery many wine lovers have yet to discover. I’ve known Bruce Neyers for nearly 40 years, and traveled with him to France during his 25-year tenure with Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants to visit some of the most iconic family-owned, artisan wineries.
So it’s no surprise that Neyers and his team work with heirloom grape vines farmed sustainably, then produce their wine combining insights from the Old World with those of the best French vignerons. This pinot noir comes from a small parcel of Swan heritage vine planted in the Russian River Valley and cared for by respected grape grower Chuy Ordaz.
The result is a masculine, sultry, savory wine that stylistically lies somewhere between France and California. What a find!
Chuck Furuya is a master sommelier and a partner in the DK Restaurants group. Follow his blog at chuckfuruya.com.
