The 2015 Pinot Noir Seascape Vineyard is generous, supple and absolutely delicious. Lifted floral, citrus and spice notes add nuance to a core of red berry fruit. Medium in body, yet pliant, the 2015 has turned out beautifully. As always, the Seascape is done in a forward, fruit-driven style for the coast, but it also has quite a bit of minerality and brightness.
Bold dark-fruit aromas and mouthfilling flavors make this full-bodied wine taste generous and concentrated. A deep core of black plum and black cherry fills the palate and lingers nicely on the finish. It is both ripe and savory but doesn't go over the top, maintaining good balance and a fresh dry aspect.
Marin County lies to the north of San Francisco, just across the Golden Gate Bridge and goes up to Bodega Bay. This is a cool, foggy region and the 2015 Pinot Noir Marin County was destemmed and spent 16 months in 32% new French oak. Cranberries, white cherries, spice, bay leaf, and sassafras notes all flow to a beautifully balanced, medium-bodied Pinot Noir that shines for its complexity and nuance. It’s one of the fine, ethereal wines in the lineup, yet doesn’t lack for intensity or depth. It’s going to keep for 10-12 years.
This wine speaks to cool-climate sensibilities, fleshy and fruity with a vibrancy and intensity. Sage, thyme and forest floor fill the nose before unleashing full-bodied succulent flavors of strawberry and raspberry that take on a kirsch-like complexity.
Pale to medium ruby-purple colored, the 2015 Hartford Court Pinot Noir Hailey's Block gives up Bing cherry, ripe raspberries and pomegranate notes with touches of baking spices, tree bark and wild thyme. Medium-bodied, very finely crafted and refreshing in the mouth, it has lovely silken-textured tannins framing the vibrant fruit, finishing long.
The 2015 Pinot Noir Arrendell Vineyard is terrific. Rich, ample and enveloping, the 2015 is wonderfully complete. The new oak, which was evident from barrel, has integrated very nicely. Sumptuous and racy, with tons of aromatic and flavor breadth, the 2015 has terrific balance of fruit, acids and structure. The old Martini clones yield a Pinot with beguiling complexity and nuance. The Arrendell remains one of the most distinctive Pinots in the Hartfort Court range.
As for the 2014 Pinot Noir MacLean’s Block, this emerges from a gentle east-facing slope east of Occidental. Made from clones 67 and 777, the wine is a stunner, with notes of forest floor, white flowers, black cherries and raspberries. The gorgeous fruit follows through on the medium to full-bodied palate with impressive purity, texture and length. This wine should drink nicely young and keep for at least a decade.
Another saturated ruby/purple wine is the 2014 Pinot Noir Far Coast Vineyard. This comes from a mountain ridge north of Fort Ross at a 1,000-foot elevation. Dense ruby purple, with notes of sassafras, forest floor, red and black cherries, raspberry and underbrush, the wine exhibits medium to full body and terrific texture and length. This is another 10-year Pinot Noir, but should be drinkable during that entire window of opportunity.
The 2014 Pinot Noir Muldune Trail comes from a vineyard at the southern end of the Anderson Valley planted at an elevation of 1,600 feet. Again unfined and unfiltered, this has a dense ruby/plum color that is more saturated than its two predecessors and notes of fresh herbs intermixed with wet gravel, blueberry, raspberry and pomegranate. It is medium-bodied, long, rich, and made from Dijon clones 115 and 777. This is a broad, savory, impressive Pinot Noir to drink over the next decade.
The 2013 Pinot Noir Muldune Trail comes from an Anderson Valley vineyard at a 1,600-foot elevation. Aged in 31% new French oak, this wine offers the cranberry, blueberry and traditional red fruits in an elegant, deep plum-colored wine with moderate tannin. As the wine sits in the glass, more raspberries seem to emerge. This is a cool-climate, high-elevation Pinot that’s just beautiful. Drink it over the next decade, as it’s somewhat restrained at present.
Moderate reddish purple color in the glass. The nose is very special, offering hi-tone aromas of an array of purple fruits and spice. A little tight, but hinting at greatness, with an attack of purple and black fruits that attracts attention, continuing through a very generous finish. A sumptuous accent of spice and savory herbs adds nuance. Very seductive, with a silky smooth mouthfeel.
Moderate dark reddish purple color in the glass. Intoxicating aromas of ripe strawberries, black cherries and black raspberries with hints of spice and violet. Mid weight plus flavors of black cherry, black raspberry and cassis with a well-proportioned backbone of acid and tannin. A highly enjoyable wine of great character.
The 2009 Pinot Noir Seascape Vineyard bursts from the glass with layers of intensely perfumed fruit. The aromatics are especially pronounced, but it is the wine's balance and overall sense of harmony that elevate the Seascape. Small red berries, crushed flowers, mint, pine and licorice wrap around the intense, saline finish. This is a very typical west Sonoma Coast Pinot. The purity of fruit is simply striking. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2017.
Bright ruby-red. Intensely perfumed bouquet of fresh red berries, cherry-cola and Asian spices. Sweet raspberry and gingerbread on the palate, with silky tannins adding shape. Gains sweetness and intensity with air, picking up black raspberry and floral character while maintaining superb clarity. This very elegant pinot is balanced to age.
The vineyard is near Occidental, in the cooler southwestern part of the valley, and you can taste the fog and the sea and crisp nights in the acidity like biting into a Gravenstein apple. Yet this perfect vintage has resulted in perfect fruit. It's hard to imagine richer blackberry, cherry and licorice flavors. Impeccable and impressive, but young. Best in the narrow window of 2011-2013.
Another brilliant effort is the 2007 Pinot Noir Jennifer's, from a hillside vineyard in the cold Sebastopol hills area of Russian River. It exhibits a flowery bouquet with both blue and red fruit scents, tart acids, a generous mouthfeel, and impressive density. Everything is still playing it close to the vest in this rich, concentrated wine. It will benefit from 1-2 years of bottle age, and should keep for 10 years. One of the best wineries in Sonoma, Hartford Family Winery, under the guidance of winemaker Jeff Mangahas, continues to fine tune an impressive portfolio of wines, all from cool climate sites.
The similarly-colored, expressive 2007 Pinot Noir Fog Dance Vineyard (another Green Valley site) is one of my favorite Pinots in this line-up. Loads of rose petal, black raspberry, and other floral characteristics emerge from this full-bodied, layered, multidimensional wine. It reveals a subtle hint of oak, very good acidity, and unmistakable amounts of minerality. One of the best wineries in Sonoma, Hartford Family Winery, under the guidance of winemaker Jeff Mangahas, continues to fine tune an impressive portfolio of wines, all from cool climate sites.
A blend of various vineyards from the far or true Sonoma Coast, and also Hartford Court's highest-production Pinot Noir. Always beautiful and balanced, the '07 in particular is remarkable for its silky tannins and overall seamless quality. Really excites for the complexity of currant, cola, licorice and cedar flavors. Now through 2013.
There's a sweet fruit and pasty quality to this wine that's reminiscent of a cherry tart, with its vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon and smoky buttery pie crust flavors. It's very delicious but also brilliantly structured as a wine, with fine tannins and a sunburst of citrusy acids. One of the best Carneros Pinots of the vintage. It will provide pleasurable drinking now-2013 at the least.
Planted to the Martini clone in the late 1980's, Arrendell sits in a cold spot in Green Valley, where restricted yields produce fruit with a wild berry character and foresty spice. This 2007 is rich and complete, the texture making it satisfying all the way through. Even so, the brightness of the fruit cuts through the wine's darker tones and leaves a mouthwatering impression. It's a boysenberry-cherry-earth combination that would be delicious with roast duck.
Planted to the Martini clone in the late 1980's, Arrendell sits in a cold spot in Green Valley, where restricted yields produce fruit with a wild berry character and foresty spice. This 2007 is rich and complete, the texture making it satisfying all the way through. Even so, the brightness of the fruit cuts through the wine's darker tones and leaves a mouthwatering impression. It's a boysenberry-cherry-earth combination that would be delicious with roast duck.
Rich, racy flavors of blueberries, cola and hugely appealing brown sugar and spice; lush, and breathtaking.
It reveals a Côte de Nuits-like earthiness with forest floor, underbrush, Allspice, plum, pomegranate, and cherry fruit characteristics. Rich, savory, well-textured, super-complex, and totally different than the Arrendel cuvée, the Sevens Bench will also drink well for 5-6 years.
[One of ] The top 100 wines of the year.