My highest score goes to the 2007 Pinot Noir Finn, which comes from the Occidental, Widdoes, and Sonoma State vineyards. A brilliant, juicy, succulent effort, it boasts a terrific full-bodied texture, layers of black cherry, raspberry, and cola aromas and flavors, a dark ruby/purple color, and a backward yet irresistible style. This big, rich Pinot Noir is capable of lasting 15-20 years.
With highly committed proprietor Kerry Murphy and talented winemaker Andy Smith, DuMol continues to be one of the most reliable names in winedom for high quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Moreover, consumers should not overlook their top flight Viognier and blockbuster Syrahs. All of the Chardonnays are barrel-fermented and spend 18 months on their lees with monthly stirring. The percentage of new French oak used varies from around 45% to 55%. The Pinot Noirs are kept on their lees for about 15 months, and the percentage of new oak ranges from 40% to 60%. The clonal material comes from old California selections such as Calera, Swan, and Martini as well as newer Dijon clones such as 115 and 777. As I reported in issue #180, the cool growing conditions in 2007 produced some of the finest Chardonnay fruit that winemaker Andy Smith had ever seen. The 2008 Chardonnay crop was average in size, but produced very tiny berries. All the wines had relatively slow malolactics (not unusual at this winery).
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