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With Pinot Noir, It Has To Be From A Single Vineyard
by Steve Heimoff
I have a point-counterpoint article due in Wine Enthusiast for the Dec. 1 ish. (In the world of paper-based publishing, you have to start thinking this far ahead, so unlike the immediacy of blogging.) It’s going to be on single-vineyard versus blended Cabernets, and which makes the better wine — or, to be more specific, which better illustrates terroir. I’m taking the counterpoint side — my friend and colleague, our Seattle-based editor Paul Gregutt, is going to advance the thesis that a single-vineyard Cab better expresses its terroir than a blended one.
I’m not so sure what the word terroir means, with respect to the quality of a Cabernet Sauvignon or Bordeaux blend. Caymus Special Selection is a blended wine, and so are Stag’s Leap’s Cask 23, Joseph Phelps Insignia and Lail J. Daniel Cuvée, among others. No slackers there.
But I am sure that when it comes to California’s other noble red wine, Pinot Noir, a single vineyard is what it takes to make great wine. Rattling off our great Pinot vineyards makes my mouth water: Fiddlestix, Rosemary’s, Cargasacchi, Ferrington, Pisoni, Ten, Precious Mountain, Mt. Carmel, La Colline, The Narrows, Fe Ciega, Allen, Rochioli, Jensen, Hanzell — my Heavens, these are the Grand Crus of California.
What makes them great are relatively simple factors: Location (cool, coastal regions with suitable dirt), impeccable farming, and (in the case where the grapes are sold to others), a demand for great winemaking. For example, the Rochiolis sell a little fruit to other wineries (Williams Selyem, for one), but if you want to put “Rochioli Riverblock” on the label, you damn well better make good wine. (No problem, Bob Cabral does.)
What vineyards did I not include on my Grand Cru list that I could have? Well, two that are significant by their absence are Bien Nacido and Sanford & Benedict. Not that I haven’t given individual Pinots from these two Santa Barbara vineyards high scores (and I’ve written of both that they’re among California’s greatest vineyards). But they’re both very big properties, and sell Pinot Noir grapes to many different wineries, not all of whom do a great job. Unlike, say, anything from my above Grand Cru list. It is almost physically impossible to get anything less than great Pinot Noir from any of them, no matter who the producer is.
I’m not sure why the best Pinots have to be unblended, but they do. Maybe some of the winemakers and Pinot aficienadoes out there can explain it. I invite commentary.
Filed under: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Commentary, Vineyards, Varietals
7 Responses to “With Pinot Noir, It Has To Be From A Single Vineyard”
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July 11th, 2008 at 3:12:11 PM
An interesting thought, and I do agree. Pinot Noir is simply not a blending grape- I can’t think of any mind-blowing wines I’ve had where Pinot is blended with other varieties OR Pinot from other vineyards. Of course I’ll keep tasting and hoping, as any Pinot Lover would.
I’d invite you to explore a new vineyard in my home area that didn’t make your list but is doing something different. Maybe you’ve heard of Riverbench Vineyard; right down the street from Bien Nacido, it’s been around just as long and produces some outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay fruit. Since 1973 it’s been selling grapes to all sorts of talented wine professionals, but just this year they’ve started selling their own label made of solely Riverbench wine. Unblended, you get a taste of Riverbench terroir, which is pretty impressive.
I’m glad someone finally had the tenacity to state the truth: Pinot belongs with fellow Pinot, and the best of the best ARE single vineyard.
July 11th, 2008 at 4:05:57 PM
Jeanne, I did review the 2006 Riverbench Pinot Noir and liked it quite a bit. It’s scheduled for publication in the Oct. 1 issue of Wine Enthusiast. I find Santa Maria Valley Pinots to be very spicy, which sets them apart from Santa Rita Hills Pinots — although it’s not always easy to tell the difference!
July 11th, 2008 at 5:05:17 PM
I enjoyed their Pinots as well. There is a nice spice note in the wine, you’re right. I’ll look forward to seeing your review. I believe Sierra Madre Vineyard in the same area is doing something similar to Riverbench and the wines are solid. It’s an exciting time for Santa Maria as the wines become better and better- I hope it will end up being just as noteworth as our Santa Rita Hills!
July 11th, 2008 at 5:11:20 PM
Jeanne, Byron had a near monopoly (or maybe an actual monopoly) on Sierra Madre grapes for many years — I think because Mondavi owned both the vineyard and Byron. Nowadays, following the sale of RMW, I notice there’s a Sierra Madre brand. But the wines don’t seem as good to me as Byron’s (woh continues to use the grapes).
July 11th, 2008 at 10:05:06 PM
Sierra Madre Vineyard was re-developped by Ken “Byron” Brown and Jonathan Nagy (current Byron winemaker) and wife Clarissa (who was then at Byron but now makes wines for Bonaccorsi).
The Sierra Madre vineyard is in a completely different location than the Byron estate. Byron is on the Santa Maria River bench, deeper into the valley and above Sisquoc, while the Sierra madre is way on the other side of the valley, on a sandy mesa next to Cottonwood Canyon - and effectively is one of the westernmost [and cooler(st) ] vineyards in SMV.
I have had wines sourced by numerous producesr from this vineyard and found the SMV fruit to produce more restrained and higher toned wines, but that could be due to microclimate as much as it is to winemaking.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:13:38 PM
Arthur, thanks for your comment. I think the descriptor “higher toned” is a very apt one for the best Santa Maria Pinot Noirs. I have assumed that any wine with a “Sierra Madre” front label is made from that vineyard, regardless of where the producer winery is located. Am I wrong? I know that certain vineyards in Russian River Valley have re-located their geographic location, but TTB still allows them to keep the vineyard name. Is this the case with Sierra Madre?
July 11th, 2008 at 10:50:00 PM
Hi Steve,
You are correct, any producer can make a vineyard-designated wine under their label.
When Byron/Mondavi owned the Sierra Madre Vineyard (after buying it from previous owners) it was part of the Byron estate, so the wines could have been called Santa Maria Valley or Byron Estate or both if they were a blend of Nielsen, Garey and Sierra Madre and they could also have been vineyard designated and Byron did a vineyard designated Pinot from Sierra Madre.
The production facility can be anywhere, the Vineyard and AVA indicate the source of the fruit. Now, logistically, it makes better sense (and better wine) to have your crush pad as near to the vines as possible.
With respect to Sierra Madre, it is where it has been since the early 1970’s. It is likely that if they don’t have their own facility, they use an AP facility like Fess Parker’s or Central Coast Wine Services in Santa maria - just a few miles away.
I have not had the Sierra Madre “brand” pinots so I will have to seek them out when i visit next.