2008 Rhys Pinot Noir Skyline Vineyard, USA, California, Santa Cruz, Wine Review

The definition of a "pretty" Pinot Noir. Deep ruby in color, mostly clear and bright. The nose is feminine/elegant with cherries, slight plums, spices and some minerality. Medium bodied. Wispy tannins. Great energy. On the palate, cherries, some black cherries and spice with slight char and minerality. Long finish. This is lovely on its own, but even better with food. It went great with Cauliflower steaks but would work well with Salmon steaks as well. Drink over the next ten years.

Grade:

Score:

Vintage:

2008

Current Price:

$80.00USD

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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2009 Rhys Pinot Noir Skyline Vineyard, USA, California, Santa Cruz, Wine Review

Vintage:

2009

Score:

Grade:

Current Price:

$130.00USD

Rhys makes some of the best Pinot Noir's in California. This is bigger in fruit but with a Burgundy styling. Garnet in color, clear and bright. The nose has cherries, slight black cherries, spice and just a hint of pine. Medium bodied. Light tannins. On the palate, this is delicious. Cherries and some black cherries with an underlying char and forest floor. Great balance. Long finish. This is still drinking youthfully. It should continue to so do for another ten to fifteen years. Nice on its own, this works well with poultry or meats, but would be nice with Salmon as well.

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.

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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2008 Rhys Pinot Noir Skyline Vineyard, USA, California, Santa Cruz, Wine Review

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

2009 Rhys Pinot Noir Skyline Vineyard, USA, California, Santa Cruz, Wine Review

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

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