3 weeks Ago
It rained the other day, and if the smell of the woods after the first rain can be called petrichor, the smell of the freeway after a long drought can certainly be called “petrolchor.” But that rain and the slight nip in the evening air reminds us that summer is coming to an end. And granted, the fall equinox is still a month away, but now is the time we start to think about red wine — maybe not the tannic monsters of Napa or even northeastern Marin, or the denser pepper zinfandels of Sonoma, but still something more than a “lively” rosé or a “flinty” albariño.
And that is where pinot noir comes in. Sure, the kings of France would roll over in their tombs over the notion that pinot noir is a starter wine, but there, I’ve said it. Maybe I’ve become emboldened by the fact that the kings of France aren’t in their tombs anymore thanks to the French Revolution or because the notion of Burgundy being the “wine of kings” around here, where both chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon dominate and kings seem ridiculous, doesn’t matter.
For whatever reason, pinot noir is both a great way to bridge the gap between white and red, as well as a great way to blow that gap wide open, too. Luckily for us, we sit in, on or adjacent to some of the greatest growing areas for pinot noir there are. Hot days, cool nights and fog, hell we might as well be in Burgundy — if Burgundy had redwoods and San Francisco.
What did Herb Caen say about heaven? “It ain’t bad, but it ain’t San Francisco.” And that could be said of just north of San Francisco, too — maybe especially just north of San Francisco. Here are four excellent examples of the local bounty that is on offer.
• Cazadero Winery, Hummingbird Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma, 2021, $59 Produced by Frank Egger , Fairfax’s former mayor, this unfined and unfiltered pinot noir is aged 12 months in French oak. In ultra-low production — 130 cases — this “cool-climate” pinot noir is “sustainably farmed” and has garnered several gold medal awards at local fairs and in local publications. A delicate dance of earth, sage, loamy cranberry and Earl Grey tea, this wine sings in the glass, even if you might have to pick some stuff out of your teeth during the afterglow.
More information at cazaderowinery.com . • Parum Leo, Estate Pinot Noir, Petaluma Gap, 2022, $42 Technically just over the border from Marin — literally like just feet — Parum Leo is operated by San Rafael’s Laurence Donald .
From the former Kastania Winery estate, he now sources the fruit for this excellent pinot noir. All big-bodied blackberry — marionberry for all you wine snobs out there — this wine is a testament to drought resistance. Parum Leo means “little lion” in Latin, and autumn in California is really just there to let us know that winter is coming.
And that really isn’t so worrisome here in this North. More information at parumleowine.com .
• Kendric Vineyards, Marin Pinot Noir, Petaluma Gap, 2022, $38 Neither a 2020 pinot noir (smoke-tainted) nor a 2021 (drought-resisted), this wine proves that vines don’t necessarily need to struggle to be good. Delicate rosewood and licorice tea play nicely together here. Its 13.
3% ABV and bright red fruit remind us that pinot noir is supposed to be delicate. And $38? That’s just ridiculous. As a side note, Kendric Vineyards also makes both a rosé of pinot noir and a sparkling rosé of pinot noir.
Double yum! More information at kendricvineyards.com . • Brooks Note Winery, Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir, 2022, $45 The Petaluma Gap has both Marin and Sonoma wines, just FYI.
That distinction doesn’t mean much in your mouth, microclimates aside, except that this medium-bodied rubyish pinot exhibits slightly more jammy characteristics than say a Marin County Petaluma Gap wine might. Baking spice, vanilla, slate and bay leaf are here as well. There might even be some leather, if you are into that.
I am not going to say that since Garry Brooks has moved his production to Petaluma, where he also has a tasting room on Petaluma Boulevard, his wines have only gotten better. But I just might write it. More information at brooksnotewinery.
com . Jeff Burkhart is the author of “Twenty Years Behind Bars: The Spirited Adventures of a Real Bartender, Vol. I and II,” the host of the Barfly Podcast on iTunes (as seen in the NY Times) and an award-winning bartender at a local restaurant.
Follow him at jeffburkhart.net and contact him at [email protected].
