'99 Willakenzie Pinot Noir Clone 114

[Cole]

Re: The WillaKenzie fruit bomb (Clone 114) and the comment ". . .an overextracted fruit bomb with high alcohol. Why do winemakers these days think that this is what people want?"

I suggest that winemakers make these wines because they sell. They ARE popular! The California style of Pinot, which is a warmer weather style (so from more ripe grapes, high in sugar and extraction), has set the overall market standards. Too many consumers turn their nose up at a nice elegant PN like those made by Bethel Heights and others, simply because they want the big fruit bombs AND, these are the wines that get the big scores from Parker and Wine Spectator. Hence, the winemakers make more of them! Why do you think the Beaux Freres (the very definition of a fruit bomb, with tannins that last forever) sells out every year at $65 a bottle??