Pretty much everything from Littorai is balanced and delicious. Their wines have that desirable quality of being able to be enjoyed young but also being able to age and gain complexity. The 2016 Littorai fits that description.
2016 Littorai Pinot Noir The Pivot Vineyard Sonoma Coast:
Upon opening aromas of mixed berries, rose petals and hints of basil (whole cluster?). Flavors fan out to show red and black fruits, savory spice, herbs and floral notes. Good acidity keeps the sweet fruit in check and there is a wisp of tannin on the finish. The wine is from Ted Lemon so you know it is impeccably balanced. Young for sure but a pleasure to drink now with many years of development in the future.
Enjoyed this bottle at Salt and Stone Restaurant, a very good restaurant located in Kenwood. About 1/2 way between Sonoma and Santa Rosa on Rt 12. We brought the Littorai, corkage is $18.00.
Fruit is certainly sweet but bottles we have had show a good acid spine. Although I enjoy Littorai young I think the aged examples like Hirsch show what Littorai can become.
We are not committed buyers at the prices but pick up an occasional bottle to enjoy.
My WOTY for 2019 was a 1999 Littorai Savoy, out of a magnum and bought directly from the winery. I have had many their early vintages and can say they age very well. I am puzzled by the sweetness notes. They are Californian without a doubt, but they are less sweet than say Arcadian, which I have also drank a few older vintages.
The wines can be a tad rich and four-square upon release. They straddle the line between Rochioli and Rhys to my taste. They do soften and blossom with age.
I have gravitated to the Anderson Valley bottlings. They are a touch more red fruited, lighter on their feet and have a savory tinge (pine needles!) that I like.
Re David’s Burg reference: As a Burg nut, I tend to like Hirsch vineyard (masculine NSG notes) and Savoy (more feminine MSD/Chambolle notes). Yes, I know apples and oranges … but they’re both fruit!
I haven’t cottoned to Ted’s whites. Too rich … in profile and price.
Same here. I can’t make up my mind whether to put my remaining 2013’s and 2014’s on Commerce Corner, or lay them down for extended aging and see what happens. Regardless, I’m not buying anymore. Cheers!
I have super limited experience with Littorai over the years having had a few bottles here or there at a few tastings and then having purchased a few bottles of my own (2x '02 Thieriot Chardonnay, 2x Hirsch Vineyard Pinots and 1x Roman Vineyard Pinot). Like others on this thread, I’ve scratched my head a bit trying to reconcile the many positive notes from palates I’ve come to respect and my own experiences. The '02 Thieriot were both good, but not remarkable. The Hirsch I drank in 2009 was super sweet and, while it improved a bit that night, it had totally fallen apart by the time I had the last glass the next day (I traded my other bottle). The '07 Roman was terrible; impossibly sweet and lacking the requisite vibrant acidity I look for in a good pinot. For my palate, there’s little to compare between these bottles and what I’ve had from Arcadian (which carry their sweetness well from the persistent acidity). Obviously mileage may vary and I respect that, but at these prices there’s too much other good juice out there that’s more in my wheelhouse.
Though you do (as do I) like a number of Jamie Kutch’s wines, and I do know that Ted was one of his inspirations when he started his winemaking journey.
I have had a number of Littorai wines and when they’re on, they’ve been marvelous, full of tension and interest. Like Matthew, I do find that my preference is for Ted’s AV Pinots (e.g. Roman, Savoy, Cerise) and I haven’t tried any of his from this vineyard, so I appreciate seeing the note.
I’ve enjoyed the Chards—and that neat Havens Chenin he makes—but agree that there are other producers I’ll grab first at the present pricing.
I had a 2011 Roman that I enjoyed when I first joined the club. At these price points, I do expect the dirt to speak to me, and if it can be…pronounced in a sense that I find pleasure, then sign me up. I know winemaker “personality” can show influence but I really need a wine to say…“this is me.” Different…unique…and not detract from the grape, region, etc. I really do not need the “wines taste the same profile” so it becomes a fine line. And when matched with your own subjective wants, needs, etc. then journey becomes personal. No “one size fits all…” or even “some.”
I dropped from the club since I also “do not get.” But having said that, my remaining stash will rest for quite some time. Perhaps this is the challenge with CA. When does the wine speak…I am. Not a hammer but a soft influence. When does it say…it is me. For example:
Copain (Wells) - Wells stamp with some dirt; no apologies
Rochioli Singles - California sunshine with some dirt sprinkles. No apologies
ESJ - Calif with balance and some dirt. No apologies
Rhys - Dirt balance. No apologies
I visited Littorai back in November and purchased a 2016 Pivot so I’m looking forward to trying it. The wines certainly aren’t cheap but I found them to be at the less sweet end of California pinot noir. The aromatics were often very good and their dedication to biodynamics was impressive. I’ll have to seek out more examples because I didn’t have a lot of experience with them before the visit.
I am an unabashed fan of most styles of pinot - from Truchot to Kosta Browne and a lot in between. I was on the Littorai list for many years in the early and mid 2000’s and attended a Littorai dinner in DC at Charlie Palmer that featured some older vintages maybe 10 years out. I liked the wines. The reason I stopped buying was that they never blossomed or gained additional complexity, even with significant time. I was buying them thinking that, as a fan of what Ted and Heidi were shooting for, they would become something special with age. But they never did. At least to my palate. They remained soft and supple with sweet perfume but with less fruit and nothing else. The Charlie Palmer dinner really demonstrated to me that there did not seem to be any particular advantage to aging these wines. I still have a few bottles left from 2004 - 2007, mainly cerise and hirsch and savoy, and each time I have opened them over the last few years has confirmed my decision not to continue to buy them.
