This is a big Pinot Noir, dark and full bodied and juicy in pomegranates, cherries, red plums and sauteed wild mushrooms, and the interplay of oak with fruit even yields richer notes of milk chocolate. It’s devastatingly good, but also too young and fresh now to show its best. With its fine tannins and exquisite balance, this articulate young wine should be best after 2013. ——S.H.(3/1/2011)—— 96

Here’s a bright, accessible but complex young Pinot Noir, appealing for its savory flavors of red cherry pie filling, cocoa, bacon, nutmeg and pepper. Elegantly crisp and silky now, it should develop for 4–6 years.——S.H.(9/1/2009)—— 92

This luscious Pinot shows the appellation’s ability to perfectly ripen the fruit while maintaining complete balance. The flavors are of cherries, raspberries, currants and cola, with nuances of licorice and gingerbread, yet for all that the finish is totally dry. So powerful is the wine in itself that it easily shoulders the 100% new French oak, which pushes the richness into a smoky, ne plus ultra territory. As for the mouthfeel, it’s silky, racy, voluptuous and delicate at the same time, the hallmarks of the very finest California Pinot Noirs.——S.H.(12/15/2007)—— 96