2008 Rhys Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard, USA, California, Wine Review

Rhys makes some of the best Pinot Noir's (and Chardonnays) anywhere. Purple in color with some ruby hues, mostly clear and bright. The nose has cherries, spice, char and slight earthiness. Medium bodied. On the palate, this is complex and layered from the first sip. Cherries, earth and smoke. Long finish. This took a while to get to this point, but it is drinking well. It should continue to drink well for another ten to fifteen years. Great on its own but better with food. Roasted duck would be perfect.

Grade:

Score:

Vintage:

2008

Current Price:

$69.00USD

Top California Pinot Noir: Which California Wine Producers Make the Best Pinot Noir?

California has actually been making outstanding wines from the Pinot Noir grape for a long time. Sure, not long in the Burgundian sense but going back at least to the middle of the last century there were good bottles of Pinot Noir being produced in California. Not many to be sure, but there were some. Starting slowly, in the 1990’s, and then exploding when the movie Sideways came out, there are now more and more offerings of good to excellent Pinot Noir being produced in California.

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Sonoma's Must Try Pinot Noirs - 2015 Best of Sonoma

For the 2015 Best of Sonoma Lists we surveyed hundreds of local vintners asking for their inside perspective of the best wines, tasting rooms, and restaurants in Sonoma. Sonoma offers a wide range of pinot noir options—but some are simply too outstanding to miss. To help develop a list of the top of the top, we asked over a hundred of the top vintners in Sonoma for their own personal choice for the top Pinot Noir under $100 in the area, and the list is to die for.

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Wines to Go Buy This Week: Sonoma Pinot Noir by La Follette, MacPhail, and Freeman

Since I wrote last week about how much I (used to) hate chardonnay , this week I am turning attention to the varietal I love: pinot noir. Friends and acquaintances frequently ask me for my favorite wine producers -and the list is long- so I am going to focus this week on my favorite Sonoma pinot noir producers. There are numerous producers of fantastic pinot in Sonoma so I'm sure I will get plenty of emails from people wondering how I could leave out so and so or who are incredulous that my recommendations exclude "less expensive" options. So let me respond in advance: The threshold for inclusion on this list is that the wine must be in regular rotation in my house and be the "go to" bottle of Sonoma Pinot Noir to serve to guests or to uncork to celebrate small victories (a concept I enthusiastically embrace..... life is too short not to celebrate good days with a fantastic bottle of wine. Who wants to die with a huge collection of great wine aging in the basement?). Must a good Sonoma pinot noir cost $40+? Of course not, though so often they do. With that said, the three wines to go buy this week are:

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2014 Rhys Pinot Noir Skyline Vineyard, USA, California, Santa Cruz, Wine Review

Vintage:

2014

Score:

Grade:

Current Price:

$165.00USD

Rhys makes some of the best Pinot Noirs anywhere. This one is one of their best. Medium ruby in color. The nose has cherries, soy and baking spices. Medium bodied. Medium tannins. Great balance. On the palate, this is complex and concentrated. Layers of cherries and black cherries along with spice and char. Long finish. This is great on its own but would work with many foods. Roasted duck or chicken would be perfect. At age 10, just starting to show some maturity. Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.

2009 Rhys Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains, USA, California, Wine Review

Vintage:

2009

Score:

Grade:

A-

Current Price:

$55.00USD

This is the base Pinot from Rhys. Ruby in color, clear and bright. The nose is nice with cherries, slight black cherries, and slight sour cherries. Medium bodied. Some depth and complexity. Still youthful. On the palate, sour cherries and cherries with slight char and spice. Nice finish. This is chugging along nicely. It won't get better but should mature and continue to drink well for another ten to twelve years. It drinks well on its own but will work better food. Roasted chicken or duck is a nice choice.

2008 Rhys Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard, USA, California, Wine Review

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Top California Pinot Noir: Which California Wine Producers Make the Best Pinot Noir?

Sonoma's Must Try Pinot Noirs - 2015 Best of Sonoma

Wines to Go Buy This Week: Sonoma Pinot Noir by La Follette, MacPhail, and Freeman

2014 Rhys Pinot Noir Skyline Vineyard, USA, California, Santa Cruz, Wine Review

2009 Rhys Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains, USA, California, Wine Review