Holy Houses of Pinot Noir

[Randy Caparoso]

Don, you're obviously our kind of man. You have good taste, and great, great friends. You can buy a lot of wonderful California Pinot Noir for the price of one of those Domaine de la Romanee Conti bottlings.

A quick overview for burgeoning Pinot lovers:

1. Deserving of its reputation, the Russian River Valley is currently tops in Sonoma; making broad, smoky-spiced, opulently round and layered styles that are a also little aggressive by, say, classic French standards (so those who prefer a delicate, "feminine" style of Pinot Noir may not be so enthralled). On top of the wineries you and Jason cited (Green Valley pretty much runs contiguous with the more gravelly, hilltop-ish Russian River area), you might also look into the De Loach "OFS" and Keegan bottlings for further tastes.

2. Carneros -- which overlaps both Sonoma and Napa counties -- is probably the second most important Pinot Noir region in Northern California right now, and great stuff has been coming out of there since the late '70s. Pinots from there tend to be a tad less generous and less spicy (in the smoky/pepperminty sense) than those of the Russian River, but are still velvety smooth, lush, and vibrant (black and red cherry qualities predominating). The "classics" include those of Acacia, Carneros Creek, and Etude; and a current personal favorite for me is the Cuvaison "Eris" (positively bright and juicy).

3. The newest, exciting area in Sonoma is what they call "Sonoma Coast" -- an even cooler region with spare, steep hillside vineyards that give very fine, silky, delicate yet powerfully spiced (peppermint veering into ginger, soy and white pepper) qualities. The Hirsch Vineyard, for instance, is being mined for a number of outstanding bottlings by wineries like Littorai, Siduri, and Whitcraft. W.H. Smith has its Hellenthal plantings, and Flowers is creating some waves of its own. These are all very exciting, cutting-edge, albeit rare and coveted, growths.

4. Finally, there are those who believe that the best Pinot Noirs in the U.S. actually come from California's Central Coast (opulent, yet perfectly scaled and elegant styles) and Oregon's Willamette Valley (check the Pinot Noir and Northwest threads of the wineboard for constant updates). One taste of, say, an Au Bon Climat "La Bauge Au-Dessus" (from Santa Barbara's Santa Maria Valley), a Babcock "Grand Cuvee" (Santa Barbara's Santa Ynez Valley), a Talley "Arroyo Grande Valley" (San Luis Obispo), and any "reserve" bottling by Oregon's Ponzi, Rex Hill, Cristom, Chehalem, Bethel Heights, or Erath might very well convince you of that. These regions make "complete" Pinot Noirs -- combining power with elegance, intensity with finesse and grace -- that now rival the finest from France's hallowed Cote de Nuits.

So welcome to the legion of Pinot lovers, where there is always something new, or even something old, to discover, and revel, and roll around the floor laughing and trolling with delight!

[This message has been edited by Randy Caparoso (edited 09-13-99).]