Arroyo Seco is an iffy place to grow Pinot or any red wine. Cool and windswept, it needs a warmer vintage, which 2007 wasn’t. Rochelle’s new bottling is very dry and acidic. It lacks a bit of generosity, in the green mint edge to the cherries. But it’s very elegant, with an appealing minerality. Drink now.——S.H.(2/1/2010)—— 87

Easily the best of La Rochelle’s three Pinots, with a zesty acidity that frames ripe cherries, pomegranates, cola, oak and citrus zest. The Arroyo Seco is an under-appreciated appellation in Salinas Valley, while the clonal mix of this wine consists of older selections, not today’s cleaned-up Dijon specimens. This is a complex, addictive Pinot. Best now and for a few years. ——S.H.(7/1/2006)—— 93