2006 Bulldog Pinot Noir

Santa Maria Valley

600 cases

Brimming with Santa Maria spice, this Bulldog won’t be ignored.  Deep and dark in color and personality.  Liqueur-like back fruits underlie notes of clove, cumin, lily, cocoa powder and black pepper.  Fine but firm tannins back a decidedly stony, chalky minerality.  Reminiscent of a great spicy Romanee St Vivant.

2006 Mastiff Pinot Noir

Carneros
400 cases

Less is more in this incarnation of legendary Hyde-Hudson Vineyard that brings a fine Chambolle Les Amoureuses to mind.  Tempered alcohol reveals a fascinating nose of peat, fresh black raspberry and bittersweet flowers.  Sappy fresh fruit opens to a palate that is uncannily rich and viscous, yet still elegant.. A profound finish allows minutes to pass before you’re ready to reach for more.

2006 Canis Major Pinot Noir

Californi

135 cases

Again we blend north and south, if only for eight precious barrels.  Explosive yet clear as a bell, it finishes with notes of cherry, licorice and animale. Flowers, fruits and stone fuse in this intense wine that recalls Chambertin Latricieres. If you can manage to keep your hands off, this wine will reward with integration worth waiting for.

2006 Pinot Noir, Rancho Ontiveros Vineyard

Santa Maria Valley

135 cases

Our second outing with this great vineyard takes a turn to what some refer to as ‘the dark side.’ We’ve always included whole cluster fermentations (sometimes up to 60%), but this is our first 100% stem-included example. It prompts thoughts of La Tache with all those Vosne notes of Oriental spice, purple plum, cloves, anise and forest floor jumping out of the glass.  Soothing and sweetly fruity, it’s still wearing some all-important baby fat.  Well integrated tannins are only worth mentioning for their addition to structure. This palate-stainer (in a good way) will please those who can measure against the best.

2006 Pinot Noir, Rim Rock Vineyard

Arroyo Grande

100 cases

For the first time, we are taking this single vineyard for a solo spin.  Think Morey St. Denis or Clos de La Roche and now were setting up a great wine.  Living up to those expectations, this wine supplies black cherry, cedar, incense, iron, wet stone, roasted meats and some coffee aromatics.  On the palate, black cherry, cassis, minerals, wood smoke, stewed cherries meld with a touch of funkiness.  Very gripping on the back with a great display of meatiness and stony minerality with long, tight tannins.  Time is this wine’s best partner.

2006 Pinot Noir, One

135 cases

Santa Maria Valley

From Bien Nacido’s historic Block One comes this highly concentrated effort.  Shallow soils stunt the site’s yield to a miniscule 1.75 tons or less per acre. The generosity of a Musigny is evoked by this wine’s overwhelming concentration without over-extraction.  Tea, ginger, tangerine rind, sweet flowers, cherry distillate, truffles and dark fruit scents pour forth.  Meat and chalk join a medley of fruit, floral and spice essences. Smoke and a hit of tar round out the palate.  My words are inadequate to describe the velvet nature of the integrated finish. This is a wine for sharing a high-five with your staff, all the while hoping you can do it again.