February 2005 Over the last twelve months, Wine & Spirits tasted 557 pinot noirs. The following 13 wines received the strongest praise from our critics. A list of all pinot noirs wines tasted, with the recommended wines highlighted, is available on www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com.

Pinot Noirs
95 I Williams Selyem $59 2002 Russian River Valley Westside Road Neighbors Pinot Noir Whatever flavor of the soil may have been extracted by the vine and packaged in its grapes is the flavor that lasts. Fresh blackberry and black plum surrounds it, great acid integration lifts it, and alcohol powers it without any heat. But the soil scent lingers, the smell of moist forest air. The complexity builds as the wine takes on air, fresh and elegantly long the next day. (Vineyard sources include Allen, Bacigalupi, Bucher, Flax, Big West and Rochioli.) (W&S 10/04) Williams Selyem Winery, Healdsburg, CA
94 I Flowers $55 2002 Sonoma Coast Camp Meeting Ridge Pinot Noir The character of pinot grown in the hills north of Jenner shows here at the intersection of ripeness and freshness. Dark cherry fruit enriches the texture, completely absorbs any oak influence, and gives a plump generosity. Delicate florals, as if preserved by cool proximity to the Pacific, add high notes; part of that is the acidity of the soil, keeping the wine tart; part of it is a mineral component, like crushed stone. Taken as a whole, the wine has a classical refinement in the context of the coast. Collectors will want this in their cellars. (360 cases) (W&S 2/05) Flowers Vineyard & Winery, Cazadero, CA
94 I Domaine Serene $90 2002 Willamette Valley Grace Vineyard Pinot Noir Grace itself. This wine, from an estate vineyard in the Dundee Hills, is a testament to how beautiful pinot can be: beautiful in its composure, in its seamless elegance. While ample and ripe, the wine keeps its balance. Delicate kirschwasser aromas and raspberry flavors gain complexity from a leafy element that feels very Oregonian in expression. The wine needs some time, and a decanter, but it's a pleasure to drink now; it will also reward four years of age. (352 cases) (W&S 2/05) Domaine Serene, Dayton, OR
94 I Testarossa $50 2001 Santa Lucia Highlands Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir This wine is as dark and intense as you might expect from Pisoni fruit, grown at a warm spot on the edge of an inner range of cool, coastal hills; it has the power and stature of a grand cru Gevrey. The structure brings it back home, as does the scent of moist earth and minerals, as if smelling a hole in the ground. The mineral character develops with each taste, expanding into higher tones of spices until the sweep of flavor is complete, from bass to mid-range to treble, a rich chord that lasts. (343 cases) (W&S 6/04) Testarossa Vineyards, Los Gatos, CA
94 I Londer $45 2002 Anderson Valley Paraboll Pinot Noir This beautiful coastal pinot has a balance of richness and delicacy, a blend of grapes from Ferrington vineyard in the southwestern end of Anderson Valley and Valley Foothills in the cooler northwestern reaches. The red fruit is crisp, the acidity as brisk as biting into a red apple; it's also full and potent, with the scent of an apple orchard in the fall. Serve this with any richly textured fish, from salmon to grilled eel. (496 cases) (W&S 2/05) Londer Vineyards, Sebastopol, CA
94 I Williams Selyem $29 2002 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir This pinot is hard to beat for pure, all-out sexiness. It's ripe, with deep red cherry flavors and a raspberry top note, rich without feeling ponderous, sweet yet still robust. Youthful scents of jasmine and indigo pour out of the voluptuous texture, as crowded by tannin as it is by fruit. It sets out to be a blockbuster, and it's pretty great, especially with salmon in beurre rouge. (W&S 10/04) Williams Selyem Winery, Healdsburg, CA
93 I Cambria $50 2001 Santa Maria Valley Clone 23 Pinot Noir It's fascinating to taste a wine from a single clone, especially when it tastes this good. This wine starts off with a lot of raspy high tones, like rosin or radish, then slowly settles into its deeper black cherry and black fig flavors with air. Oak melds into the fruit with a lasting aroma of cherry wood smoke, and that finishing note seems endless, wrapped around a succulent black fruit flavor. The impression is dynamic and intense without a lot of weight. (200 cases) (W&S 2/05) Cambria Winery & Vineyard, Santa Maria, CA
93 I MacMurray Ranch $20 2002 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir The Gallos blend this wine from Two Rock Vineyard in Cotati with other vineyards, mainly in Carneros. They hit a ripeness in 2002 that tastes of blackberries and raspberries fresh off the vine. The flavors are luscious yet architectural, with dark spices adding structure. And in the end, the spice and fruit doesn't stop. Buy a case, or more. It's pure and delicious. (W&S 4/04) MacMurray Ranch, Healdsburg, CA
93 I Copain $41 2002 Anderson Valley Cerise Vineyard Pinot Noir Wells Guthrie has developed a name for himself as a serious contender in the pinot noir stakes, and the luxurious fruit character he's coaxed out of this wine indicates why. The bright cherry flavor contrasts darker mushroom and Asian spice tones, the elements weaving together as they last. It feels cool as spring water, a gentle wine that keeps getting more sophisticated with air. (W&S 2/05) Copain Wines, Santa Rosa, CA
93 I Merry Edwards $48 2002 Sonoma Coast Meredith Estate Pinot Noir The exposition of the cool Meredith Estate site helped ripen the fruit for this wine in 2002, while that slow ripening lends savory flavors true to coast pinot Ñ wild strawberry darkened by umami tones of mushroom, seaweed and soy. Those dark tones will blend right in with roast duck, or eggplant stuffed with veal and wild mushrooms. Lovely, essential Sonoma Coast pinot, it captures the coastal breeze. (650 cases) (W&S 2/05) Merry Edwards Wines, Windsor, CA
93 I Merry Edwards $48 2001 Russian River Valley Klopp Ranch Pinot Noir The Klopp Ranch vineyard grew a luxurious pinot in 2001, giving fruit with a push-pull of gentleness and force. On the one side, it's rich and supple, the red fruit core deepened toward a French-roast coffee tannin; on the other, the aromatics show a delicate complexity, edged with Middle Eastern spice. The acidity has the light bite of an heirloom tomato, placing the wine with pasta in a sauce of braised rabbit or veal. (995 cases) (W&S 6/04) Merry Edwards Wines, Windsor, CA
93 I Morgan $38 2002 Santa Lucia Highlands Rosella's Vineyard Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands pinot is nothing if not intense, and this wine has the power turned up high. The black cherry flavor runs off the scale, and yet, for all that headiness, the wine is smooth as a sheet of satin. Even more remarkable, it's still fresh. Breathe it in and you'll want something equally succulent, like roast goose. (30 cases) (W&S 2/05) Morgan Winery, Salinas, CA
93 I Whetstone $46 2002 Sonoma Coast Hirsch Vineyard Pinot Noir The delicate aromatics of this lean, sophisticated pinot last, with scents of bergamot and pressed roses. The fruit flavor is tart red cherry, needing time to allow all its distinction to show; probably best around six years from the vintage. (W&S 10/04) Jamey Whetstone Wine Cellars, St. Helena, CA