The results

With a trend towards increasing elegance and several stand-out regions, California offers plenty for Pinot Noir lovers prepared to pay the price,

WITH A THIRD of wines scoring 90 points or more, this was a successful tasting, highlighting the consistency in quality and stylistic variety of Californian Pinot Noir.

‘it was fascinating,’ said James Doidge. ‘i was a bit disappointed that more wines didn’t score above 95 points, but it shows California is doing really exciting things – and especially with the huge diversity of styles.’ ronan Sayburn MS agreed: ‘They are much improved from 15 years ago when it was all brutish, heavily oaked, high-alcohol styles that were more like Barossa Shiraz.’

The trend towards elegance was a recurring theme. ‘More moderate alcohols – 12% to 13% – is a good thing to be championing,’ said Doidge. Stephen Brook agreed: ‘i wish we’d seen more. When producers get that balance right, the wines have a mouthwatering freshness.’ They contrasted these with the ‘clumsy, gloopy’ wines of 15% or more. ‘Why does anyone make Pinot Noir like this?’ said Doidge. ‘Some were nice if you forgot they were meant to be Pinot, but typicity has to be a part of it.’

While submissions were mainly from the very good 2014 and 2015 vintages, Doidge felt vintage variation was irrelevant amid the successive good years California had enjoyed since 2011. ‘Nearly all the wines are approachable now,’ he added, ‘and the best have the structure to hold out for another 10 years.’

Looking at regionality, the big surprise of the tasting for Brook was the success of Santa Cruz Mountains. ‘We only had three wines, but two were stonking!’ Doidge’s highlights were ‘exciting’ Sta rita and Sonoma Coast; while Sayburn picked out Napa. ‘it’s not really the right environment for Pinot Noir, but i enjoyed some more than i expected to,’ he explained.

Brook spoke for the group in assessing other areas. Anderson Valley was a ‘mixed bag’, with more wines that were ‘ungainly and alcoholic’ than those that were

complex and pure. The Santa Lucia Highlands wines were ‘impressive, weighty and packed with fruit though not necessarily elegant’, while russian river was diverse, showing ‘big, overripe styles as well as fresher examples’. Santa Barbara and Santa Maria were ‘lively’, Edna Valley was ‘upfront and fruity’, and Carneros ‘as so often, was a bit dull and disappointing – not at the same quality level as other coastal regions’. He was also disappointed there were so few submissions from Fort ross-Seaview in the Sonoma Coast Highlands, which showed great promise.

Finally, the Monterey AVA provoked some debate on price. Brook appreciated these were more commercial wines, but found them ‘dull, heavy and bland’. Doidge was more positive. ‘i think it’s a really interesting area for Pinot. They’re not the cheapest, but there is great competition between producers here, so for about £20 you get a brilliant compromise between quality and price compared to, say, Sonoma or further south.’

The panel noted that comparisons with Burgundy were unfair but inevitable in a Pinot Noir tasting, but they were shocked by the high prices. ‘You can get a great Bourgogne or really good Mercurey for £30 or £40 that have more structure and complexity than some of the wines here asking £50, £60 or more,’ said Brook.

Sayburn commented that while some of the top wines were worth it, many didn’t justify their price. ‘it’s the same as in Burgundy – you have to choose your producer, but you’re not going to get any bargains.’ Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their latest release of Californian Pinot Noir