After years of positive feedback and encouragement from my friend and Pinot Noir icon, Burt Williams, I finally made the journey to this, the 16th annual Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival. I was happy I did.
For a Pinot Noir hound, this works. Its small enough that one can easily get to most tables and have a conversation with the winemakers who were almost all present. This years event was held on the property of Goldeneye Winery. Over 40 wineries pour their Pinot Noirs and in some cases, a few other wines, under a huge tent where close to 700 people gathered for the 4 hour event. Many food stations were available with Pinot Noir friendly selections.
From Berserker board recommendations and those of Burt`s and armed with an appropriate Burgundy shaped stem, I set out to discover the wines from a few select wineries and then expanded into some other unknown realms occasionally stopping for some fresh, hot, out of the oven slices of pizza and locally crafted raw milk cheeses although there were some other food choices including lamb and salmon.
The wineries I tasted included Londer, Navarro, Williams Selyem, Drew, Elke, Balo, Breggo, Goldeneye, Lazy Creek, Ferrari- Carano, Witching Stick, Couloir, Waits- Mast, Saintsbury, Maggy Hawk, Husch, Copain, Black Kite and Knez.
With only a couple of exceptions, I tasted Pinot Noirs. I was surprised to find more than half were featuring high alcohol content and in some instances, heavily extracted wines. Most wines poured were from the 2010 vintage which for many was very challenging.
My favorite wineries were Drew, Copain, Williams Selyem and Balo. The one vineyard that stood out for me was Ferrington and it was that wine from Williams Selyem from 2010 that was my WOTD.
2010 WILLIAMS SELYEM FERRINGTON VINEYARD PINOT NOIR- surprised to find it at 14.2 % alc., but there was no heat and in fact, it was soft, smooth, elegant and in perfect balance; very nice spicy fresh red fruit with depth and layers; unfortunately, it was the only wine poured from this producer; fortunately, I have a lot of their wines including this one in my cellar.
2011 BALO VINEYARDS PINOT NOIR- a new producer and possibly from their first vintage, I was impressed by this wine and its very nice fruit profile, gentleness and good mouthfeel; with some decent acidity, I expect this to evolve and mature into a fine Pinot; 13.1% alc.
2010 DREW FAMILY CELLARS GATEKEEPERS PINOT NOIR- some smoke and minerals, nice fresh red fruit, layering and fine texture all come together to make for a pleasant experience; 12.3% alc.
2011 DREW FAMILY CELLARS TALFRYN & CALDER PINOT NOIR- more fresh, ripe red fruit here in this young and vibrant wine; good acidity and depth and a hint of something real good forthcoming; 13.8% alc.
2010 COPAIN WINES LES VOISINS PINOT NOIR- impressive upfront fruitiness still integrating and evolving; good structure; a wine to follow for another 5-7 years; 13.5% alc.
2010 COPAIN WINES KISER “EN HAUT’ PINOT NOIR- again, upfront fresh fruitiness abounds; this time I get a little mint by mid palate and a more wild side to the fruit profile; another one to follow and enjoy as it suggests good things upon maturity; 12.6% alc.
2010 COPAIN WINES “EN BAS” PINOT NOIR- layers of strawberry and raspberry in a medium body; impressive complexity and balance along with good length; 12.4% alc.
All in all, I tasted 41 wines. I enjoyed meeting many passionate Pinot lovers, wineries and winemakers. I highly recommend this festival to anyone interested in quality Pinot Noir in a reasonably small and intimate setting, not to mention, the beauty and history of Anderson Valley.
Since I spent 3 glorious days on this trip and had some stellar wines throughout, please see 2 additional emails/ threads in Wine Talk, 1 on the 3 days and the other on a Williams Selyem winery tasting/ tour.
Cheers