The 2013 Pinot Noir Far Coast Vineyard, which comes from a mountain ridge north of Fort Ross on the Sonoma Coast (408 cases), shows lots of herbaceousness, Japanese green tea notes intermixed with cocoa, black cherries, pomegranate and a hint of earth. This is a spicy, distinctively herbal style of Pinot Noir that readers will either love or not. I did like it, because it offers such a contrast in style to the other Pinot Noirs from Don Hartford’s winery. Drink it over the next 7-8 years.

Moderately dark reddish purple color in the glass. A complex wine of great interest, with aromas of cherry, berry, spice box and nutty oak, and a mid weight plus core of well-spiced red fruits. A seductive offering with a silky mouthfeel.

Dark reddish purple hue in the glass. Highly expressive nose that leads with aromas of dark berries, tea and anise. Highly structured and robust, with flavors of blackberry, ollaliberry and English tea. Concentrated, but elevated with juicy acidity, and offering a suave finish of noticeable intensity.

The beautiful perfume of the 2012 Pinot Noir Fog Dance Vineyard offers notes of red and blackcurrants, plums, Asian soy, forest floor and hints of clove and spice. Medium to full-bodied and ripe, this compelling, delicious Pinot can be enjoyed over the next 7-8 years.

The 2012 Pinot Noir Muldune Trail comes from the southern end of Anderson Valley at a 1,600 foot elevation. It exhibits cool-climate blueberry and raspberry fruit, medium body and lots of elegance. It comes across like a sexy, lush, full-bodied Volnay. Drink it over the next decade.

The vineyard is near Occidental, in the cooler southwestern part of the valley. Although daytime highs can be considerable, the nights cool off rapidly, preserving the vital acidity that’s so noticeable. The flavors show the pure, long hangtime ripeness of all Hartford Court’s 2011s: raspberries, cherries and blood oranges, with deeper notes of dark chocolate and anise liqueur. This wine will have no trouble aging until 2024.

This is the biggest and most alcoholic of the winery’s 2011 Pinots. Strong flavors of raspberry and cherry pie filling, white chocolate and macaroons make it almost sweet, but it’s not. The richness is in the middle palate, while the finish is clean and dry. Lots of people will drink it too soon, but try giving it until 2018–2019 in the cellar.

The structure on this Pinot Noir is superb. It’s brisk and mouthwatering in acidity and firm in tannins, giving the wine an architecture for the fabulous ripe raspberries, cherries, pomegranates and orange zest. Drink after 2019.

Raspberry and cherry fruit flavors, with exotic hints of ripe Christmas persimmons and plum sauce, are upfront and appealing. Beyond the fruit is the most wonderful acidity, courtesy of the chilly vintage. Credit has to go to the grapegrowers who so successfully managed the vintage’s cool challenges.

Juicy dark cherries, mint, licorice, sweet spices and hard candy jump from the glass in the 2011 Pinot Noir Arrendell Vineyard. The style is racy, exuberant and generous, all signatures of the Russian River. A rush of pomegranate, sweet red cherries and rose petals flows through to the finish. The combination of a cool, late ripening, low-yielding site and the Martini Pinot clone (planted in 1975) yield a Pinot of rare distinction and class.

The stunning 2011 Pinot Noir Arrendell Vineyard was cropped at 0.5 tons of fruit per acre. Planted in 1975 with the California Heritage clone of Martini, the fruit from this site often struggles to ripen fully, and is rarely harvested before Halloween. However, the quality makes these 38-year-old vines produce a gorgeously rich wine with blueberry, black raspberry, cherry, incense and a hint of damp forest floor. Complex and medium-bodied with loads of fruit, good acidity and sweet tannin, this is a sultry, exotic, classic Pinot Noir to drink over the next 5-6 years. It achieved 14.5% natural alcohol.

Hartford Court's 2010 Pinot Noir Land's Edge Vineyards brings together fruit from Far Coast and Seascape, a blend that works very nicely. Far Coast provides the body and structure, while Sea Scape contributes aromatic delineation and energy. There is an element of lift and sheer nuance in the Land's Edge that is wonderful. Here, too, I find superb precision in the flavors. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2020

A gorgeous wine, the 2010 Pinot Noir Seascape Vineyard is full of character. Savory herbs, tobacco and licorice are some of the notes that take shape in the glass. Focused, bright and beautifully articulated, the 2011 is an excellent rendering of Pinot from this coastal site just west of Occidental. This is yet another in a series of hugely impressive wines from Hartford Court. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2020.

Hartford's 2010 Pinot Noir Arrendell Vineyard captures the best qualities of Russian River Pinot. Juicy and explosive, the 2010 is layered and nuanced throughout. Juicy dark cherries, hard candy, mint and freshly cut flowers are all alive in the glass. The Arrendell has a level of inner perfume, complexity and sheer sweetness that is remarkable. Hints of sage, rosemary and mint add nuance on the close. This is a gorgeous wine from start to finish. Arrendell, one of the cooler sites on the Russian River, was planted in 1975 with the Martini clone. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2020.

Bright ruby-red. Complex, high-pitched aromas of raspberry, licorice, potpourri and gingerbread, lifted by an exotic bergamot topnote. Sweet, broad and generous, conveying a strong impression of spiciness and deep red berry and rose pastille flavors. Distinctly elegant and precise pinot with a sweet, floral, spicy finish that hangs on tenaciously.

Given its comparatively restrained nose of fresh cherries, minerals and wood spice, this wine surprises a bit by being bigger and far more expressive than expected once in the mouth. Its deep and solidly varietal flavors show layers of vanilla, dark cherries and sweet spice, and, if fairly ripe, it keeps fruit front and center all the way through. It is full and fleshy in feel with an open architecture that invites early drinking, and it will make a fine mid-term foil to succulent lamb stews or classic Boeuf Bourguignon.

From the winery's Annapolis Vineyard, at the cool, northern tip of the true Sonoma Coast, comes the chunky young Pinot Noir. Although the grapes were determined before fermentation, the tannins are significant, a reflection of the low yields and tough skins the berries develop. In fact, the wine is almost Zinny in its full body and spicy, briary fruit. It clearly needs time. Best after 2011.

Close in quality is the deep ruby-hued Far Coast Vineyard (a site near the Pacific Ocean). Notes of fruitcake, spicy cherries, pomegranates, and incense along with excellent depth, purity, and richness are found in this top-class Chambolle-Musigny look-alike. It should drink well for 7-10 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.

Deep red. Seductively perfumed bouquet of red berry preserves, five-spice powder and flowers. Juicy raspberry and cherry flavors are framed by silky tannins and gain weight with aeration. Richer black raspberry and kirsch qualities dominate the long, seductively sweet finish. Offers an impressive blend of power and vivacity.

The brilliant 2007 Pinot Noir Land's Edge Vineyard (a Sonoma Coast mountain site) also comes from Dijon clones, but it is a deeper, richer, full-bodied effort. Its dark ruby color is accompanied by a sweet, floral, raspberry, and black cherry-scented bouquet with the wood component pushed to the background. Broad, deep, rich, and impressively endowed, it should drink well for 5-8 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.

Rich and concentrated with ripe cherry and extracted, deep, robust flavors; powerful, intense and spicy yet quite elegant.

Bright red. Strongly perfumed nose offers a sexy set of red and dark berry aromas, along with cinnamon, mace and dried rose. Juicy, sharply focused raspberry and blackberry flavors display impressive depth and vivacity. Silky tannins add support to the long, sappy finish. A drop-dead gorgeous pinot that's drinking wonderfully right now.

Forest floor scents of ferns and conifer contrast with brighter fraise de bois and violet notes in this pinot noir. the structure is clean and transparent, allowing the wine's complexity to show through. The impression is gentle yet concentrated, a wine built to age or to decant for coq au vin.

Made from 34-year-old vines, this wine is bright and fresh with minerals, earth, dark cherry and concentrated notes of black tea; balanced yet full of complexity.

This is from the winery's Annapolis vineyard. It's a very fine and interesting Pinot, showing the acidic, elegant structure of true coast Pinot, and exotic flavors of wild raspberries, red cherries, licorice, sweet leather, tea and Asian spices. All this, in a lightly silky, eminently drinkable texture.