Anderson Valley’s Poised Pinot Noirs, Plus Barossa’s Shiraz Showcase: Weekly Tasting Report (Nov 20-26)

For a small vineyard region that counts just 2,500 acres of grapes, Anderson Valley punches far above its weight. Elegant, cool-climate wines are its calling cards, primarily the Burgundian varieties of pinot noir and chardonnay, with a sprinkling of Alsace-style, floral whites and plenty of sparkling wines.

Anderson Valley is a unique part of Mendocino County, California, with its 15 miles (24 kilometers) of vineyards and wineries stretching along a highway that leads directly to the cool, windswept Pacific Coast and the picturesque town of Mendocino.

Executive Editor Jim Gordon first began visiting the region and reviewing its wines more than 40 years ago and has covered Anderson Valley closely for the last 15. Given that history, what he found in a concentrated two-day tasting of 113 wines this month was not surprising – he knows how good and well-balanced the wines can be – but no less exciting.

Perfumed, poised and precise pinot noirs dominate the Anderson Valley tasting notes this week, including the highest-rated red, the Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Anderson Valley Cerise Vineyard 2021. This is not your father’s Kosta Browne, the darling of the first decade of the 2000s with its inky dark color and 16 percent alcohol, but a great wine from a great vineyard that showcases the winery's current approach to leaner, fresher wines.

With the same high score as the top pinot noir is a dazzling white, Domaine Anderson Chardonnay Anderson Valley Dach Vineyard 2021, which doubles down on a crunchy, acid-driven, mouth-watering style with minimal oakiness and multiple layers of flavor.

Two chardonnays from Lioco and one from Maggy Hawk also scored 95-plus, making a big statement that pinot noir and sparkling wines don’t have the stage to themselves.

This tasting gives just a snapshot of what’s available now, and doesn’t cover sparkling wines in depth, but it does call out a few fine bottles, like the luxurious Lichen Estate Anderson Valley Blanc De Noir 2018 and a toasty, vivid Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Estate Bottled Sparkling Wine Clark Road 2020. This latter represents a new set of small-block wines from Roederer that have proven distinctive in the winery’s bigger blends over the years.

Many producers based outside Anderson Valley also source grapes here, like Sonoma pinot noir legend Williams Selyem, whose beautifully concentrated and graceful Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Anderson Valley Ferrington Vineyard 2022 comes from a rather large property in the slightly warmer, inland town of Boonville. This popular site is vineyard-designated by several producers and is known for its generous textures and mostly red-fruit flavors.

Other outstanding pinots – from Goldeneye, Lioco, Thomas T. Thomas and Baxter, to mention a few – tend to come from the cooler “deep end” of the valley, the lower elevations nearer the coast that lie past the tiny village of Philo as you drive west. Or from sites on Mendocino Ridge, which is a distinct AVA adjacent to Anderson Valley in the rugged, mountainous terrain on the southwest side and starting at 1,200 feet elevation.

We’ve covered the Drew Family wines before, which excel in this AVA. Signal Ridge, Murder Ridge, Minus Tide and Wentworth and a few others in this report use this AVA for excellent pinot noirs and chardonnays.

Jim can’t resist a good gewurztraminer, and he found a beautiful example in the Husch Gewurztraminer Anderson Valley Late Harvest 2023, a sweet wine that’s rich in honey, lychee fruit and mineral flavors. For gewurztraminer in a dry style, look especially for Goldeneye and Lula.

Note that Husch is one of the oldest wineries here, and is consistently reliable across its wide portfolio, as are Navarro and Handley – all Anderson Valley leaders that go back decades and enjoy relatively wide distribution.

BAROSSA'S SHIRAZ SHOWCASE

The Barossa Valley’s diversity was on full display when Associate Editor Ryan Montgomery visited last week. He tasted wines from producers crafting meticulously made creations in remarkably different styles. In just one day, Ryan visited three producers who showcased the full spectrum of shiraz – from vibrant, restrained and fresh to bold, rich and powerful – all of which deserve recognition for representing shiraz at its finest.

Ryan first visited the Sami-Odi winery, where he met with winemaker Fraser McKinley, a New Zealander reshaping traditional views of Australian shiraz. McKinley takes an artisanal approach to winemaking, focusing on small-batch production and harvesting early to create wines with elegance and balance. This method emphasizes vibrant acidity, lower alcohol and refined textures, offering a fresher expression of Barossa Valley shiraz. The Sami-Odi Shiraz Barossa Valley Hoffmann Dallwitz 2023 is intriguingly perfumed and complex. It's a truly exceptional wine, with an almost perfect balance between finesse and power.

At the opposite end of the stylistic spectrum is Chris Ringland, who is known for crafting intensely rich and opulent wines. These are produced from his 120-year-old, dry-grown vineyard in Eden Valley. Ringland’s shiraz is made in Spanish gran reserva style, spending up to five years in new French oak barriques before further aging in the cellar. The Chris Ringland Shiraz Barossa Valley Dry Grown Barossa Ranges 2015 exemplifies his signature style, offering layers of dark fruits and complex aromas, including roasted coffee beans, olive tapenade, tobacco leaf, granite, mulberry bush, iodine and blood plum.

Stylistically situated between Sami-Odi and Chris Ringland is John Duval Wines, founded by John Duval, the former chief winemaker for Penfolds, where he helped craft iconic wines such as Grange. Renowned for his expertise in shiraz, Duval has cemented his reputation as one of Australia’s most influential winemakers. This was evident when tasting the John Duval Wines Cabernet Shiraz Barossa Integro 2016, released after six years in bottle. The wine features a seriously complex nose and a wonderfully balanced blend of 70 percent cabernet sauvignon and 30 percent shiraz, crafted from vines with an average age of 110 years.

Also in this week’s report are a selection of 2022 releases from Domaine Prieure Roch, whose bottles bear a recognizably simple (and modern) design, reflecting the minimal intervention in the winery. From organically- and biodynamically-farmed vineyards in both the Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune, the wines are incredibly aromatic and concentrated.

Associate Editor Claire Nesbitt particularly liked the Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots 2022, which has zesty, elegant and perfumed aromas of orange peel, tea leaves and wild berries, matched by a wonderfully cool, fresh and fine-grained palate. Like all their wines, it’s made with 100 percent whole-bunch fermentation, without fining or filtering, and with minimal addition of sulfur. Check out the other 2022 reds from Nuits-Saint-Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin in the Cote de Nuits, as well as both white and red Savigny-Les-Beaune.

– Jim Gordon, Ryan Montgomery and Claire Nesbitt contributed reporting.

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated during the past week by James Suckling and the other tasters at JamesSuckling.com. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. Some will be included in upcoming tasting reports.

Note: You can sort the wines below by country, vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.