Reviews

TOP WINES OF 2011 - #28 CHARDONNAY 2009

OCTOBER 2011 ISSUE:
95 "EDITORS' CHOICE" CHARDONNAY 2009 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
A brilliant Chardonnay. Almost nothing quite like it out there. Great, zesty acidity makes the mouth water, and oak is strongly there but perfectly vindicated by the power of the underlying flavors. They suggest ripe pineapples and tropical fruits, peaches, honeysuckle and a firm, stony minerality that has to come from the soil. For all the richness, the wine is terrifically dry. —S.H.

94 PINOT NOIR RESERVE 2007 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
A very beautiful wine that shows the exotic, feral quality of the greatest Pinot Noirs from the Fort Ross area. It’s explosive in wild raspberry and cherry flavors, with hints of pine, cola, wintergreen, anise, bacon and smoky, sweet vanillins from oak barrels. A wine of great pedigree, it’s showing well now, and should hold for the next six years. —S.H.

93 "EDITORS' CHOICE" PINOT NOIR SYMPOSIUM 2007 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
Held back for nearly four years, this Pinot still brims with acidity. Tartness is the shock that precedes columns of raspberries, cherries, pomegranates, persimmons and cola, bearing banners of exotic spices. A precise, intellectually pure wine, it should be decanted now, and will develop interestingly over the years. —S.H.

92 PINOT NOIR 2008 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
Elaborately ripe, this polished Pinot explodes with fresh flavors of raspberries and cherries that taste pie-baked, with the smoky, sweet, toasty crust. It’s just delicious, and also obviously fruity-sweet, with a jammy attractiveness. What it lacks in subtlety it more than makes up for in richness. Drink now. —S.H.

90 PINOT NOIR SEA SLOPES 2009 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
Fruit is the star of this wine. It’s gigantic and forward in sweet raspberry and cherry flavors that taste wild, picked under a hot summer sun. Fortunately, there’s a lot of acidity, and firm tannins provide additional structure. The finish is thoroughly dry. A bit in your face now, but could do interesting things over the years. —S.H.

95 "EDITORS' CHOICE" PINOT NOIR 2007 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
93 CHARDONNAY 2008 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
91 CHARDONNAY RESERVE 2005 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
94 CHARDONNAY RESERVE 2004 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
92 CHARDONNAY 2006 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
92 PINOT NOIR RESERVE 2002 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
93 CHARDONNAY RESERVE 2002 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
90 CHARDONNAY 2003 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
91 CHARDONNAY 2002 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
90 PINOT NOIR 2002 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
90 PINOTAGE 2002 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast

90 PINOT NOIR RESERVE 2007 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
October 15, 2011 Issue
Offers deep, complex, focused plum, mineral and black cherry fruit that's supple and delicate. Full-bodied, ending with a subtle mix of flavors laced with sassafras. Drink now through 2016. 344 cases made. –JL

91 PINOT NOIR 2007 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
92 PINOT NOIR RESERVE 2005 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast - CURRENT RELEASE
92 PINOT NOIR RESERVE 2004 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
90 PINOT NOIR 2005 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
91 PINOT NOIR 2004 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
91 PINOT NOIR 2003 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
92 PINOT NOIR- SYMPOSIUM 2003 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
90 PINOTAGE 2004 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
91 PINOTAGE 2003 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
90 CHARDONNAY 2004 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
93 CHARDONNAY 2003 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
90 CHARDONNAY RESERVE 2002 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast

18 EXCITING CALIFORNIA REDS: James Laube- The best values include a $37 Fort Ross Pinot Noir 2007 from the true Sonoma Coast.

TASTING HIGHLIGHTS: CALIFORNIA PINOT NOIR: James Laube- More great wines as vintages shift gears. From the elegant 2005 and the rich 2004 vintages come nearly two dozen remarkable wines.

A DISCOVERY ON THE SONOMA COAST: James Laube- Fort Ross Vineyard has found a groove. It's a relatively new brand of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that wine lovers should pay serious attention to.

EXCEPTIONAL: 2009 Fort Ross Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, “Symposium”
Classy aroma of cherry, tea, very faint note of pepper, and a weight that’s a bit Burgundian. A wine that needs aeration; will be lot more complex in 2-3 years.
EXCEPTIONAL: 2007 Fort Ross Pinotage, Sonoma Coast
This thick skinned South African grape often makes an odd wine, but here special clonal material personally cleared through official channels makes a dark, blackberry/plum scented wine with weight in the mid-palate and graceful structure. Faintly rustic finish; a great wine to serve blind to a wine snob.

PINOT NOIR 2002 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
SYMPOSIUM 2002 Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast

OCTOBER 2010 ISSUE
90 (Best Buy) CHARDONNAY 2008, Fort Ross Vineyard, Sonoma Coast