Hanging

Chad 2009 Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast) – 14.3%. One of those “we can’t tell you where the fruit is really from” wines that are never as good as whatever price they would have gone for in some theoretically better economy. Well, what about at this price? It’s nice. Good pinosity, as the invented term goes, supple fruit with a little earth for muscle, fair structure, ripe but not overblown. Finishes just a touch short, but in this guise it’s inexpensive pinot, so who demands an endless linger? (7/11)

Painful wing

Wind Gap 2008 Syrah Armagh (Sonoma Coast) – 12.7%. Before they became monstrous tubs of goop, there was a time when the signature of certain Aussie shiraz regions was a soy/bacon/Worcestershire aroma that took the grape to one of its organoleptic extremes. At a much lower alcohol than anyone would expect, this syrah follows that soy-soaked path, almost to the point of caricature. It’s quite tannic, and time might bring some tamer personality traits. But I doubt it. (5/11)

Autumnal employees

Alesia 2006 Pinot Noir Falstaff Road (Sonoma Coast) – A bit heavy, with good black fruit struggling to get through a clumsy structure. Time might help; it certainly couldn’t hurt. (6/08)

Cutrer remark

Sonoma-Cutrer 2004 Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast) – Quaffable and a good cocktail pinot, but with repeated trips to the well the old flaw of Sonoma pinot – a confected, almost candied cola character – rears its head. It almost makes me nostalgic for the days when this, rather than searing alcohol and zinfandel-like fruit intensity, was the predominant bugbear. Beets abound, and the finish is quite short. (3/08)