How time flies. This article will already be the third such report on California pinot noir and while I have been following the grape’s evolution since the early 1980s, I have never seen more change in such a few years. Most of it has been for the good but for better or worse, one could indeed say without fear of undue hyperbole that we’re witnessing a bona fide revolution. Acreage has exploded, more is being planted every day and pinot seems to attract an ever growing group of young producers anxious to try their luck fermenting for gold and fame as it were. A few gifted or lucky newcomers have achieved one or both and they serve as inspiration to those who have not, or those neophytes who want to. To state the obvious, pinot is now definitely mainstream and never before have producers, consumers and, it must be said, the wine media paid more attention to it.

As I have observed before in these pages, as promising as all of this focus and devotion of resources, both human and financial is, this revolution continues in fits and starts. There are now vast fields of very young vines, planted on rootstocks and clones where there is little history, or firm evidence, to reinforce the assumptions behind the plantations in the first place. Experimentation is to be applauded but as everyone knows, not all experiments turn out well and thus, not withstanding a more temperate climat than what is found in Burgundy, we are still some distance from pinot nirvana where everything is wonderful.

Still, let’s give credit where it’s due: the general level of quality is infinitely better than it was even 10 years ago and this is an incontrovertible fact. What’s interesting to me as a long time observer is the relatively recent bifurcation of the industry into two almost bipolar styles as opposed to the one original style whose goal was to essentially replicate the wines of Burgundy. While it’s of course simplistic to argue that there are presently only two styles of pinot in California (just as it would be to say the same thing about Burgundy), it is useful for discussion purposes to at least suggest that there are two major genera: one - super high phenolic ripeness/high alcohol; and two - moderate phenolic ripeness/moderate alcohol. There are of course an extraordinary number of species, even sub-species existing below them, which is what makes all of this so interesting.

It is not an overstatement to say that the respective adherents of the two schools generally do not like one another. Few pass freely between the two schools and even fewer seem to want to. Indeed, though I say this mildly tongue in cheek, it calls to mind the many free-for-all slugfests I have witnessed between terroirists and non-terroirists! The super ripe school claims their wines are crafted for early consumption and should not be judged by the same criteria one might apply to more traditionally styled efforts. By contrast, traditionalists tend to argue that the super ripe wines are not pinot noir at all but rather some artificial life form that has more to do with a chemistry set and no rules than anything resembling quality pinot.

I have recently tasted some high ripeness/high extract examples with a few years of age on them and based on these bottles, the ‘early consumption’ claim is a good rule to follow because the majority of these wines did not show well at all. Essentially, as the exuberant fruit and baby fat recedes with time in bottle, the alcohol and/or structure become the dominating element(s) and even if one argues that they were never meant for the table and food in the first place, they were no longer interesting even as an aperitif.

I point this out to readers for the simple purpose that never before have there been so many pinots that routinely break 15% and as you will see, there are any number knocking on the door of 16%. While I would be the first to admit that railing on about high alcohol is really just a straw man because it’s not the alcohol that really matters, it’s the integration of it with the other components to create, or not, a balanced whole. The problem of course is that very few wines of any stripe, let alone a variety whose primary strength is elegance and finesse, have the ability to remain balanced above 15% alcohol. To be sure, there are a couple of wines in this review who manage to do it but not many.

This question of alcohol levels and balanced wines takes center stage with the quirky 2004 vintage. It’s not so much that the growing season was unusually warm as it is that there were discrete portions it that were, which is to say that there were several heat spikes. While those vineyards with drip irrigation systems kept the vines adequately hydrated, many producers who employ drip irrigation also have canopy management regimens that routinely expose the bunches to direct sunlight. And those who do not irrigate often suffered from vines that shut down, halting photosynthesis and thus phenolic development, resulting in grapes with under ripe tannins but high sugars. Acids and pHs were all over the place but as a general rule, the pHs were higher than usual and thus a very large percentage of the 2004s were acidified with the usual results, e.g. some deftly and some not.

The 2003 vintage was also warm but growers generally told me that they had more flexibility as to when to pick. As the reviews will reveal, some growers delayed picking until very late, and in doing so pushed the edge of the ripeness envelope as Burghound.com 13 0 July 2006 far as they could, making wines that are not dissimilar to the 2003 burgundies. By contrast, others picked early and made more balanced, and in my view, more interesting wines.

In summary, I found as many wines to like in 2004 as I did in 2003. The 2003s are perhaps a bit more structured and will probably require a year or two more of bottle age before arriving at peak drinking stages. Read the descriptions closely if you find that your tastes adhere more to one school than the other as I have tried to meticulously describe the style and character of each wine. This was done so that you can more easily purchase those wines that match your taste preferences. While the associated scores certainly indicate an overall summation of quality, when it comes to a group of wines as stylistically variable as this, the tasting notes take on even more importance.

As to the wines themselves, you’ll find a few really lovely and highly recommended wines, quite a number of average to good efforts and a few laggards, which frankly is about what you would expect to find. The stars in the 50+ producers that follow include Arcadian, Au Bon Climat, Copain, Hirsch, Radio-Coteau, Rhys/Alesia, Rivers-Marie and Whitcraft and several other wineries produced one or two stunning wines especially worthy of your attention such as Scherrer Winery, The Ojai Vineyard and Talley Vineyards. And as I have mentioned, there are also some difficult to like wines that suffer from some combination of over ripe or stewed fruit, very high or often excessive alcohol levels, less than deft acidification and/or oak regimens that are hardly in keep with producing balanced pinot noir.

I have also decided to implement a new feature for CA pinots, which is a Burghound.com Selections summary as I do for each vintage of burgundy. You will find it immediately preceding the tasting notes below and I hope that you find it useful. Also, prices are provided by the wineries and thus may vary considerably depending on your purchase source.

Given the obvious focus of Burghound.com, I feel compelled to mention that U.S. pinot noir is not Burgundy and Burgundy is not U.S. pinot. I state the obvious because so many people, including some consumers, producers as well as certain critics who should know better, laud or criticize pinot noir because it’s either very Burgundian in character or it’s not. In point of fact, the two regions share a common grape variety and after that, all bets are off. The resulting wines are different and should be viewed as such. While comparisons are inevitable, it ultimately is a disservice to the individuality of both regions, unless of course the goal is the unfortunate internationalization of wine where differences are to be avoided, not celebrated. The wines are different because the micro-climates are different, as are the soils, day and night time temperatures, total sunlight, moisture, proximity to water masses, vine age and dozens of other critical aspects. What is shared to a lesser extent are similar production methods, depending on the wineries in question and among the very best producers in both countries, a desire to express as clearly as possible the voice of the land or stated differently, a sense of place.

Note: the scores below are presented on the basis of absolute quality, not how these pinots compare to burgundies.

2004	Pinot Noir - Chileno Valley	Alesia Vineyards	90
2004	Pinot Noir - Clos Pepe	Brewer-Clifton	91
2004	Pinot Noir - Santa Rita Hills Clos Pepe	Estate	90
2004	Pinot Noir - Hacienda Secoya	Copain	91
2004	Pinot Noir - Kiser "En Bas"	Copain	91
2004	Pinot Noir - Kiser "En Haut"	Copain	93
2004	Pinot Noir - Russian River Valley	Freeman Winery	90
2004	Pinot Noir - Sonoma Coast	Hirsch Vineyards	92
2004	Pinot Noir - Alberigi	Radio-Côteau	90
2004	Pinot Noir - Terra Neuma	Radio-Côteau	90
2004	Pinot Noir - Alpine Vineyard	Rhys Vineyards	90
2004	Pinot Noir - Home Vineyard	Rhys Vineyards	92
2004	Pinot Noir - Summa Vineyard	Rivers-Marie	90
2004	Pinot Noir - Summa Vineyard Old Vines	Rivers-Marie	94
2004	Pinot Noir - Hirsch Vineyard	Siduri Wines	90
2004	Pinot Noir - Rincon	Talley Vineyards	90
2004	Pinot Noir - Stone Corral Vineyard	Talley Vineyards	91
2004	Pinot Noir - Morning Dew Vineyard	Whitcraft Winery	91
2004	Pinot Noir - Westside Road Neighbors	Williams & Selyem	90
2003	Pinot Noir - Knox Alexander	Au Bon Climat	92
2003	Pinot Noir - Sanford & Benedict Vineyard	Au Bon Climat	91
2003	Pinot Noir - Fe Ciega Vineyard	Ojai Vineyard	92
2003	Pinot Noir - Russian River Valley	Scherrer Winery	90
2002	Pinot Noir - Fiddlestix Vineyard	Arcadian Winery	91
2002	Pinot Noir - Pisoni Vineyard	Arcadian Winery	92
2002	Pinot Noir - Lollapalooza	Fiddlehead Cellars	90
2002	Pinot Noir - Seven Twenty Eight	Fiddlehead Cellars	90

2004	* Pinot Noir - Chileno Valley	red	90
2004	Pinot Noir - Sonoma Coast	red	89

Alesia Vineyards is the négociant complement of Rhys Vineyards, where I have included the production details and philosophy (see below). For further information, visit www.rhysvineyards.com

2004 Pinot Noir - Sonoma Coast: (14.1%). A subtle touch of toast frames dark berry and spice aromas that introduce rich, sweet and mouth coating medium full flavors that offer notable concentration and a textured, dusty and nicely intense finish. There is good power here and this is youthfully awkward and will require several years in the cellar to really harmonize. Good stuff with excellent potential that presently displays just a touch of gas on the finish so I would decant first. 89/2010+

2004 Pinot Noir - Chileno Valley: (14%). A perfumed dark berry, spice and earthy nose complements the rich, sweet and round flavors that offer good detail and solid muscle on the impressively concentrated and beautifully persistent finish. This possesses excellent dry extract on the dusty, intense and well-structured backend that will require at least 5 to 7 years to completely resolve. Be sure to give this 45+ minutes of air first. Excellent quality here. 90/2011+

2004	Pinot Noir - La Encantada Vineyard	red	89
2004	Pinot Noir - Santa Rita Hills	red	87

Alma Rosa is the new project of Richard Sanford who is one of the pioneers in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, having planted his first vineyard there in 1971 and he now farms over 100 acres. 2004 is the first release for this certified organic winery. Both wines come with screw cap enclosures. For further information, contact: (805) 688-9090 or email info@almarosawinery.com or visit www.almarosa.com

2004 Pinot Noir - Santa Rita Hills: (2645 cases produced; bottled at 14% - $30). A dark berry and briar fruit nose that features hints of wood toast and earth combine with round, fresh and subtly sweet middle weight flavors that culminate in a tangy and slightly oaky finish of moderate length. This is certainly stylish and while youthfully awkward at present, this should offer 3 to possibly 5 years of potential upside. 87/2009+

2004 Pinot Noir - La Encantada Vineyard: (from Sta. Rita Hills fruit that produced 500 cases; bottled at 14% - $45). Upper register and notably fresh and pure red pinot fruit aromas that are reserved but nicely complex lead to detailed, classy and better balanced medium weight flavors that belie a stylish touch of finishing wood influence and a bit of edgy acidity on the solidly long finish. There is a lovely natural sweetness and enough mid-palate fat that should enable this to round out with 2 to 5 years of bottle age though with food, it could be approached now. 89/2008+

2002	Chardonnay - Sleepy Hollow Vineyard	white	89
2002	Pinot Noir - Dierberg Vineyard	red	89
2002	* Pinot Noir - Fiddlestix Vineyard	red	91
2002	* Pinot Noir - Pisoni Vineyard	red	92
2002	Pinot Noir - Sleepy Hollow Vineyard	red	90

The 2002 vintage is the current release as wines are bottled relatively late by domestic standards. Readers should know that Joe Davis’ goal is to create serious, long-lived and intense Burgundian styled wines and to that end, he does not destem; as such, the texture and mouth feel of his wines are decidedly different than much of what you will usually taste from California and Oregon. The wines see a high percentage of new oak and are bottled unfined and unfiltered. Not surprisingly, stylistically the wines do indeed closely resemble the Burgundian model and it would require a careful taster to identify many of these as US pinots. Prices ranges from $20 to $75 per bottle. Note that Davis also produces chardonnay from the Sleepy Hollow Vineyard and both the 2001 and 2002 impressed me. For further information, contact Joe Davis: (805) 688-1876 or visit www.arcadianwinery.com/wines/

2002 Pinot Noir - Dierberg Vineyard: (the first vintage from Santa Maria fruit planted in 1997 and bottled at 13.8%). An earthy and dark berry fruit nose featuring both red and black cherry notes introduces rich, robust and relatively powerful medium full flavors that possess good concentration for such young vines and I very much like the intensity, particularly on the noticeably, but not aggressively, structured finish. This is perhaps less elegant than the other wines in the range but there is a lot of material and the wine is at present youthfully awkward. Solid if not exceptional quality by the standards Davis has deservedly become known. Be sure to give this at least 30 minutes of air first as it improved significantly. 89/2009+

2002 Pinot Noir - Fiddlestix Vineyard: (from Santa Rita Hills fruit and bottled at 14.5%). Classic ruby. A more elegant and very pinot nose of red fruits framed by a discreet touch of wood precedes sweet, detailed and layered middle weight flavors that don’t have the power or punch of the Dierberg yet there is a good deal more finesse and I very much like the purity of expression. The moderately complex flavors are very fresh and they carry the alcohol with no trace of warmth. Note that the structure will require a good 5 to 7 years to resolve. 91/2010+

2002 Pinot Noir - Pisoni Vineyard: (from Monterey Country vines and bottled at 13.7%). Brilliant ruby. A stunningly elegant and high-toned spiced red pinot fruit nose that displays subtle complexity yet the more one carefully examines the nose, the more the aromas reveal themselves. This is deceptively light on the palate and fans of power CA pinots need not read further yet those who enjoy classically styled pinot will find much to admire in the pure, defined and layered flavors that add another dimension with 45 minutes of air, particularly on the dusty, firm but persistent finish. This is a wine that will require patience as it is presently very understated though it’s clear that an extended slumber in the cellar will yield something special. 92/2010+

2002 Pinot Noir - Sleepy Hollow Vineyard: (from Monterey Country vines in the Santa Lucia highlands planted in 1974 and bottled at 14.5%). This is notably riper than the Pisoni with spiced red berry and subtle floral notes that complement the rich, indeed even succulently sappy medium full flavors that are generous and sweet in a deceptively forward style yet the structure arrives with a rush on the slightly warm yet impressively long finish. This will most please lovers of “sunny” CA pinots whereas the Pisoni is crafted in a more traditional style. 90/2009+

2002 Chardonnay - Sleepy Hollow Vineyard: (from vines in the Santa Lucia highlands and bottled at 13.8%). A notably ripe yet elegant nose of lees and orchard fruit aromas merge into rich, full-bodied and sweet flavors that are generous but don’t lose focus or cut on the solidly long finish. This is definitely a CA chardonnay yet it is rendered with style and grace and most importantly, lovely balance on the sappy and mouth coating backend. 89/2007+