Here are 4 more terrific 2011 pinot noirs that I tasted in the past several weeks. Such an awful vintage.
2011 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills- USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills (8/12/2013)
Stemmy top note, with pepper. The fruit shows a roasted, red fruit quality, along with a dried raspberry. There are some pure blue tones in the finish, too. This is solid, real enjoyable.
2011 Ken Brown Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills- USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills (8/9/2013)
This is very good. Tasted it right after the 2011 SBC Pinot and this SRH blew that wine away. The oak that is a player in that wine is thankfully absent here in the SRH. Red fruits, bit of root beer, strawberry, with a real pleasing underpinning of acidity, and a spicy, zesty long finish. Excellent.
2011 Kutch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/13/2013)
I tell you what…this wine goes down easy and once again, the bottle didn’t make it to Day 2. I took this to dinner to enjoy over a kale salad and then a marg pizza. The stems were more apparent this time, and then the acidity popped through, along with a nice mix of red fruit. The bottle was gone in about 90 mins and so it’s hard to offer something beyond a vote for the wine again, sans anything beyond one sitting. I’ll reload it again when it’s reoffered next week, for sure.
2011 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Occidental Ridge Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (6/29/2013)
Showed terrific for my tastes. Lots of RM signature with citrus peel, cranberry and some pine needle. With more air, some ripe notes of raspberry and blueberry add to the palate of the wine and it went great with food. Listed on the bottle at 12.8%, too. A kiss of vanilla in the finish suggesting some new oak but fit right in. Yet another very nice 2011 CA pinot, lower in alc with good clean flavors and weight.
Just checked out the cellar tracker tasting notes list. Average score of notes so far: 88.57, SD=3.66 which to me (although unscientific sample) makes it look like an average vintage. You are all drinking the cream of the crop so I think your sample is also skewed. But given that, less than 5% of the scores are above 93 points, so if we are drinking the cream of the crop (wines worth cellaring and putting in cellar tracker) and the average is still this low, then to me it is not a “great” vintage, actually somewhat mediocre or average. Let’s get some score inflation here, ok???
Seriously, I have tasted a whole lot of 2011 Pinot Noirs that were watered down versions of their 2010 or 2009. Many vintners made severe selections in 2011, but they sold off a lot of lesser quality wine which made it into the negociant channels. So while I applaud the high quality of the very top, for my money I would rather buy 2010s and look forward to the 2012s. I did buy some based on your recommendations to see how they develop, though! More later…
PS: Please don’t pick apart the analysis…I was just looking at some numbers and thought I’d share. Real statisticians please tread lightly…
2011 Siduri Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills- USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills (8/15/2013)
Dark red color. Nose of cola, spice, bramble fruit. On the palate, sweet dark fruit and oak buffeted by some savor/sour elements surrounding on the mid-palate, giving good breadth. Medium- acidity is well integrated. Some notes of tea and soft woody tannin on the medium finish.
Not a complex drink, but certainly a good cocktail. Nothing wrong, just not excellent. 14.1% (87 pts.)
Fred, I don’t subscribe to points but I appreciate your analysis for those who do.
The point I have been trying to make in my posts within this thread through the wines that I had posted is that there are very fine examples of what I believe are strong pinot noirs all throughout the state, to include now Santa Rita Hills where I was last week. SRH, Sonoma Coast, SLH, from some pretty diverse winemakers and their own styles. TRB, Ken Brown, Greg Brewer, Jeff Pisoni, Pax Mahle, Jamie Kutch, as examples. That’s a diverse group.
I’ll buy 2011s from the same producers I bought in 2010, and will do the same for 2012. Good producers, despite whatever they get handed, make the best they can and in my view, many have done just that in 2011 with some terrific wines.
This wasn’t good… @ $9 just so people don’t think I’m a total homer for '11.
2011 Irony Pinot Noir Small Lot Reserve Monterey County- USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey County (8/16/2013)
Surprisingly dark… Raises some suspicions. Nose is cranberry and light toast. There’s a nice cranberry flavor on the attack but a huge dose of toasted oak plows right over it. Slightly astringent short finish. On the thinner side for mouthfeel. Easy pass even at $9. (83 pts.)
2011 Lucia Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard- USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (9/2/2013) The Wine Crew (FMIII in the OC): Blind. My WOTN for the Pinot flight. Dark ruby color, surprising as so many of the 2011 are leaning on the lighter side, not this one. Great nose, best by far, beautiful complexity of red fruit and light toasted oak. Palate shows medium acid, cranberry, cherry, and rounded tannins. Oak lingers in the background never drowning out the fruit. Medium plus finish. (93 pts.)
2011 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir Vigneron Select- USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills (9/2/2013) The Wine Crew (FMIII in the OC): Blind. Groups 3rd and my second place finisher. I always like this wine, even blind I guess. The nose is stellar and I like the stem quality. Palate is burnt sandlewood, stem, and ripe raspberry. Huge finish. (92 pts.)
2011 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/2/2013) The Wine Crew (FMIII in the OC): Blind. This placed third for me and was last place for FMIII. I had three wines that could have been 3rd but i had to pick one so I could have been 5th of 7 just as easy because the lineup was so strong. Dark rugy color and good clarity. One of the better noses of the evening. Dark cherry fruit, light acid, and lots of stems with some oak. Medium plus finish. It probably lacks in the area of balance but it just tasted good. (92 pts.)
2011 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Summa Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/2/2013) The Wine Crew (FMIII in the OC): Interesting color, a burnt red and a touch cloudy. Light red fruit nose and and the palate has tree fruit combined with raspberry and strawberry. Medium plus finish, enjoyable. (92 pts.)
2011 Anthill Farms Pinot Noir Tina Marie Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (9/2/2013) The Wine Crew (FMIII in the OC): Blind. Color is on the leaner side, light cranberry. Muted red fruit and roe strawberry aromas. Very soft mouthfeel, tannins completely solved. Soft, feminine finish. (91 pts.)
2011 Kutch Pinot Noir Savoy Vineyard- USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (9/2/2013) The Wine Crew (FMIII in the OC): Blind group really like this more than me. Strawberry was the theme. Light strawberry color and quite cloudy. Strawberry nose and soft ripe strawberry flavor. A little sweet on the medium finish. (90 pts.)
Ok Brigger, I’ll add to what you placed above, the same 7 you tasted alongside me during the dinner. We differ on the Kosta Browne, as I simply didn’t like it (although will note here that I thought the 2011 KB 116 Chardonnay we also did blind was excellent, to offer some additional feedback). Anyway, aside from that pinot, I thought the Anthill showed terrific again (as it did when I had it at the winery 3 months ago), as well as the Lucia Soberanes. I have to offer the group a format mea culpa apology in that I should not have blabbed some of my comments when we poured that wine blind. I just think a lot of this bottling and my enthuiasm got the best of me! The wine got three first place votes so I trust those were unbiased opinions when we took the count!
2011 Anthill Farms Pinot Noir Tina Marie Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (9/1/2013)
Tasted blind. This showed similar to the previous two time I have drank it. Impressive. Strawberry, terrific balance, with binc cherry, red apple, acid and some herb. Reminds me of the 2011 Wind Gap Sonoma Coast, without the WG’s stem inclusion. And, this finished 1st place of the 7 CA Pinots we tasted blind. I still think the 2011 Anthill Campbell Ranch is better than the Tina Marie, with the former being more ageworthy and the latter being something that will drink and show fantastic more short term.
2011 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir Vigneron Select- USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills (9/1/2013)
Tasted blind. This went in the 7th (end slot) of the 2011 CA Pinots we did blind, and it finished in 3rd place. Good mix of blue and red fruit, juicy with a jammy note in the core of the wine, too. Reminded me some of the 2011 Anthill Tina Marie RRV we had in the same format, with just a bit more acid in that wine. Good stuff…retasting a day later, really dig the aromatics on this today. Peppery, floral, spice. The fruit here shines great, mixing blue and red, like strawberry, raspberry and candied red apple, along with blueberry. The acidity is balanced well with the fruit, making the wine drinking well right now so for drink window, no reason why you can’t enjoy this beauty now but has good balance and acid to age, too.
2011 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/1/2013)
Tasted blind. Of the 7 2011 CA Pinots we tasted last night, this was my 7th place finisher. Just did not care for this wine. Big in aromatics, flavor and lacked balance. Heat, too. There was some zesty tones in it from the vintage but overall, came off dark, heavy and lacking for finesse.
2011 Kutch Pinot Noir Savoy Vineyard- USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (9/1/2013)
Tasted blind. I had not tried this yet, although I own a couple. I have tasted the 2011 Kutch SC a couple times, though, and think that wine is drinking really great, will continue to get better. So with that as context, what about the Savoy? This was my favorite of the 7 CA pinots we tasted blind. Love the acidity in this, crished rocks in the aromatics, lean red fruits, rocky. It got better in the glass as it aired. Have about an ounce left over from last night, will try later again. In sum, this showed strong, is in my target for what I now look for in CA pinot…retasted a day later, what seems to show a lot today are the stems, in the core of the wine for sure, a big dollop of pine needle. The fruit lays behind them, showing dried cherry, pomegranate, tart red apple and blueberry skin. This needs time, as while I really dig the fruit flavors, the stems need to soften out to let the wine balance.
2011 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Summa Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/1/2013)
Tasted blind. Have this wine in my cellar but had yet to try one. So, to have it circle through the blind 2011 CA Pinot format we had put together, it was nice to see this come out of the bag after we had voted. Tangy. Pomegranate, zesty apple and high acidity. Then blueberry, zesty strawberry. I really like what TRB did with the 2011s, here is yet another example of how he got it right.
2011 Zepaltas Pinot Noir La Cruz Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/1/2013)
Tasted blind. Of the 7 CA 2011 Pinots we did blind, this one was the most zesty of the bunch. Seems stemmy or peppery with spicy and zesty fruit. Then what I have found on a # of occasions with 2011 CA Pinot, there is a zesty, raspberry fruit quality to the wine with a rocky finish. This will need some time, as it’s pretty youthful at this stage but showed me some promise, too.
I didn’t enjoy this wine, I dont mind the previous fruit forward vintages but this just didn’t taste good.
2011 Lafond Pinot Noir SRH- USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills (10/27/2013)
The wine looks Purple colored but lighter than previous vintages which looked like a syrah. The legs are Fast. It smells like Cherry, Chocolate, Alcohol/Hot, and Charcoal. It tastes like Dark Cherry, Cranberry, and Espresso. The body is Medium with high acidity. The wine has Angular texture. The wine finishes Long, probably the longest finish is years but the overall flavor profile is not enjoyable. Disappointing. (82 pts.)
An interesting fact to note is that 2010 was cooler on average (daily temps) than 2011, but it was the heat spikes in 2010 that gave those deep colors and pushed the ripeness further, but it also made harvest more erratic and variability higher in '10.
Thought it was about time to revive this thread about some '11 garbage Cali pinots…
2011 Sandhi Wines Pinot Noir Wenzlau- USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills (11/19/2013)
Dark ruby red. Cherry, herby menthol nose, definitely get a sense of whole cluster ferment. Tart cherry, cranberry, with earth and mineral tones throughout… “crunchy” fits well here. Light-med body, medium tannin and acid. The finish wasn’t short, but I expected a bit more, which is the only reason this isn’t a 94 for me. (92 pts.)
2011 Poe Wines Pinot Noir Angel Camp Vineyard- USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (1/19/2014) POE Wines - Winemaker’s Dinner with Samantha Sheehan (The Loft @ The Montage - Laguna Beach, CA): I like the '10, it’s great but this is even better in my opinion. Seems like it was picked at a lower brix resulting is a less fruit forward profile. This is killer. Nose has a Pinot funk which I like, some discussion whether this was reduction but not the case. There is light cherry flavor and significantly noticeable chalky mineral note. Yeah. Medium plus length on the finish.
2011 Sojourn Pinot Noir Gap’s Crown Vineyard Sonoma Coast- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (1/18/2014)
The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are medium. It smells like cranberry, cherry and toast. It tastes like cranberry, cherry, medium toast and vanilla. The body is medium/full. The wine has polished texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has medium acidity.
This wine is fantastic. Paired with a bechamel, leeks, and sausage homemade pizza.
Very much depends on the wine. There are light, pretty wines that are quite enjoyable now, but might not age well, and there some intense, structured wines that should age very well. It was a vintage where extended hang time added great depth without losing acidity or volatile aromatics or gaining much sugar. But, many had to pick before they’d like to, and some really cool sites where barely ripe mid-November (or never ripened).
If classically ripe wines with great depth and complexity is what you’re into, there are a lot of gems to be found. Very much worth seeking out.
Paul, I cannot make that kind of generalization in reply to your question. Both Brig and I have had lots of conversation, positive in nature, about the vintage and I have tasted a # of great wines but there are some that drink well now, others that need time. I’d put the Lucia Soberanes into the former, then say the Kutch McDougall into the latter. Both fantastic, although the styles are different so the wines will enjoy a different aging curve.
I would say to those who may pass on the vintage, there are great wines being missed and I have put a # of 2011s into my cellar, will continue to do so.
2011 Cabot Vineyards Pinot Noir Anderson Valley- USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (2/23/2014) Falltacular 2014 (FMIII in the OC): I enjoyed this more than the Nash which was nice too. Light burg colored. Nose is complex with sandlewood and spice. Palate is driven with cedar and sandlewood wrapped around a strawberry core. Medium plus finish.
2011 Poe Wines Pinot Noir Angel Camp Vineyard- USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (1/19/2014) POE Wines - Winemaker’s Dinner with Samantha Sheehan (The Loft @ The Montage - Laguna Beach, CA): I like the '10 it’s great, but this is even better in my opinion. Seems like it was picked at a lower brix resulting is a less fruit forward profile. This is killer. Nose has a Pinot funk which I like, some discussion whether this was reduction but not the case. There is light cherry flavor and significantly noticeable chalky mineral note. Yeah. Medium plus length on the finish.
2011 Sojourn Pinot Noir Gap’s Crown Vineyard Sonoma Coast- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (1/18/2014)
The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are medium. It smells like cranberry, cherry and toast. It tastes like cranberry, cherry, medium toast and vanilla. The body is medium/full. The wine has polished texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has medium acidity.
This wine is fantastic. Paired with a bechamel, leeks, and sausage homemade pizza.