The Adelsheim 2011 Pinot Noir Zenith Vineyard displays impressive, sheer, berry seed-crunching and white pepper-tinged invigoration, although its tart-edged boysenberry and huckleberry fruit doesn’t persist with quite the primary juiciness for which I had hoped. Overtones of hibiscus and anise add allure, while the texture here remains fine-grained if unmistakably tannic. Overall, this is impressive enough to suggest following through at least 2017.
Adelsheim winemaker David Paige maintains, “I instantly became a better winemaker when I finally let go of worrying about why it is that grapes from one site taste so different from those harvested elsewhere and focused instead on making the best wine out of them.” The occasion for his remark was a comparison of adjacent Quarter Mile Lane and Bryan Creek Vineyards, which were planted from the same Adelsheim mother block on soils and with exposures identical as nearly as their proprietor and his team let alone yours truly can tell. “Sure, we handle the fruit a bit differently now,” notes Paige, “but that’s in response to the differences we observe right off the vine.” Paige insists, though, that he is anything but a recipe winemaker even relative to a given vineyard or block. “I drive some of the people who work with me crazy I do so much tasting in the cellar, because what I suggest we do with this particular fermentor based on how it’s tasting today might be 180 degrees removed from what I thought we were going to want to do a day or two ago. But now I have more data.” (For a capsule history of this estate and details on its nowadays extensive vineyards, consult my issue 202 report.)
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