IntoWine Founder Brad Prescott's weekly wine recommendations.
With vineyards in both Santa Cruz and Mendocino counties, Rhys can pull from a variety of sources to make a variety of Pinot Noir. With Bearwallow, their vineyard in the Anderson Valley, there is a delicate and quite lovely feel to this – something as smooth as silk. The softness texturally belies its layered complexity. Yes there is the requisite black cherry, boysenberry, loganberry and light strawberry, but there is also black tea leaf, light resin and sandalwood.
As Pinot Noir goes, this is quite simply a very pretty wine. Sure, that’s not the sort of descriptor that most reviews use, but it is accurate. Subtle, soft, almost subversive, this is a Pinot that doesn’t announce itself, it doesn’t brag, it simply waits in the glass for you to try it. There is noticeable but subdued fruit; black cherry, pomegranate, Rainer cherry, light strawberry, pomegranate but they are wonderfully melded together so that nothing stands out – except for the quality of the wine in your glass at that moment.
Whitehall Lane Winery has a focus on red wines, more Cabernet driven wines. This 2019 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Zinfandel offers notes of blackberry, blueberry, black cherry, boysenberry, and huckleberry. The fruit is fully structured by moderate to mature tannins, the use of judicious oak, and a mild acidity. There are back notes of vanilla, sandalwood, and light campfire. This is definitely a food friendly red wine to pair with a various dishes, but it’s also a wine that makes you remember how good Napa wines can be when they’re treated with restraint.
Since the early 1990s, Paraduxx has created blended red wine to show off the Napa Valley. A bit larger and more macerated than previous vintages, it is still nonetheless an enjoyable, solid wine. The tannins are a little more aggressive here with the fruit being both expressive but still subdued. The more noticeable element is the oak; an 18-month program of both French and Hungarian, with 40% of the barrels being brand new. The composition is 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, then diminishing proportions of Zinfandel, Malbec, Merlot, Syrah and Petit Sirah, in that order.
This Pinot Noir drinks like Santa Barbara with a little bit of Oregon. The cool climate of the Santa Rita Hills allows for the development of pomegranate, rhubarb, black cherry, and green and black tea leaves, while its earthiness and minerality are the best attributes of Oregon Pinot Noir. Here the Southing, which has matured greatly over the years, stands apart of the run of the mill Pinot Noir. If you’ve ever been to Santa Barbara you can see the layer of clouds that hug the mountains like a blanket. Underneath that blanket are the Sea Smoke vineyards that were planted 25 years ago.
