Question for Randy C.

[Randy Caparoso]

I agree with the comment on oak in the Cristoms -- very generous. But he balances it out with intense, powerful fruit. The same for Beaux Freres -- tons of oak, and tons of fruit.

St. Innocent? I know you like it, Bucko, but that's where I draw the line a little bit -- I think the majority of his wines are a little too heavy in oak and tannin in relation to fruit balance. I mean, I love Mark Vlossak as a person, and his wines have that same exuberant character. Just slightly too much enthusiasm for oak for my taste.

Siduri: I've met and talked with Dianne and Adam Lee, and came away with the impression that they are true devotees of the grape. They live and breathe it, and also apply completely natural, minimal handling methodologies. The result are wines that vary from bottle to bottle (I know this, since I've sold all of their cuvees). The closest thing in California Pinot Noir to the "Gang of Five" in Beaujolais -- every bottle an adventure. I think this is why Bucko's had problems. I'm sure he's found some "funky" bottles (to be specific, some volatile acidity, or some oxidation, or some excess of sediment, etc.).

But when you get a fresh, perfectly clean bottle of Siduri (I especially like their Hirsch bottlings -- the most refined and graceful of their lots), you get lots of ringingly intense and pure Pinot Noir flavor. Something to write home about. I would say that at least a third of their wines deliver that, but at $35, $45 a pop, it's something of a crap shoot, I'm sorry to say. But these guys are good, so no doubt they're getting better as the years go by...

Pricing: Yep, all my recommendations are pricey. It's very, very difficult to make really special, low price Pinot Noir. Modern viticulture entails balancing of fruiting vines -- ratio of leaves to fruit, trellising for sunlight exposure, vine spacing, timing of thinning and hedging, and numerous other factors, all crucial to the final product. When you hit that balance with, say, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, it's perfectly possible to make wonderful wine yielding, maybe, 3, 4 or even 5 tons per acre. But with Pinot Noir, no matter what they do, the rule is still as close to 2 tons per acre as possible for decently intense fruit. So even before coming into the winery -- where the wine needs still more handcrafted, small batch attention -- Pinot Noir is twice the price to make. Just the way it is, unfortunately.

Finally, Pinot Noir as a "fad?" Nah... good Pinot is too pricey, unpredictable, and downright peculiar to ever amount to something like that. But what do I know? Even Bob Dylan, Courtney Love and Angelina Jolie have become "mainstream" in recent years.

[This message has been edited by Randy Caparoso (edited 03-27-2002).]