Top 10 wines of 2013

‘Twas the year of Pinot Noir…

While scrolling through my bottle shots in iPhoto and clicking through the past year’s posts, I realize I was on quite the Pinot Noir kick—all year long! I picked the following wines as “favorites” because they stood out in my mind and/or I enjoyed them more than once. Here they are, in no particular order:

Laurent Perrier Brut Champagne NV: I always like to begin with Champagne, and the LP never gets old to me! I enjoyed it on my birthday in October; every time I have gone to La Folie on Polk Street in SF in the past three months; and on countless occasions during the summer. There are even two half-bottles of it in my fridge as I write this. Bright and crisp, this Champagne is always a great price (under $40 retail, less than $20/glass in restaurants) and delicious every time!

2010 Dominique Cornin Pouilly-Fuisse: When I was working in the city, I accidentally grabbed a bottle of this instead of the $20/bottle Cornin Macon-Chaintre (which I think is a great value and blogged about in the spring). Alas, I was pleasantly surprised with this Pouilly-Fuisse ($35/bottle), as it was a notch up in complexity and fruit flavors from its more affordable sibling wine. Unadorned with oak, this Chardonnay also has terrific acidity without the mouth-puckering quality of biting into a lemon. If you know where to find in the Bay Area, please let me know!

2011 Domaine Perraud Mâcon-Village Vielles Vignes: Yes, another White Burgundy. I’ve become a huge fan, especially when said wine is only $18/bottle. Totally unoaked, this is a great wine for summertime and seafood, as mentioned in the July 18thblog post.

2009 Gary Farrell Russian River Valley Pinot Noir: I listed the vintage only because it was a 2009 I blogged about back in September. But at the winery in Healdsburg last month, I had the opportunity to taste a few single-vineyard Pinot gems that you won’t find in stores. The 2011 Gary Farrell Hallberg Vineyard Pinot Noir ($55/bottle) has a perfume of rose petals and dark berries. On the palate, notes of ripe plum and red currants are bolstered by ample acid and silky tannins. And the views of Russian River Valley from the tasting room are spectacular!

2009 Kosta Browne Gaps Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir: I really liked the 2009 Kosta Browne Russian River Valley Pinot Noir as well, which I tried on July 4^th (but didn’t blog about) and then enjoyed again at a party in October. It was awesome tasting the RRV and the Gaps Crown Vineyard side-by-side. Mr. Browne does an excellent job of taming the tannins that Gaps Crown fruit is known for, while keeping the mouthfeel lush and satiny. It’s a full-bodied Pinot fit for a steak or similarly full-flavored meal.

2010 Alysian Russian River Valley Pinot Noir: I never mentioned this particular wine in a blog post, but it is delicious ($42/bottle). It has been on the wine-by-the-glass menu at Main Street Wine Bar in Tiburon for the past six months—for a reason: everybody loves it. It has that classic dark cherry cola flavor with just a hint of earthiness and a luscious mouthfeel.

2011 Sojourn Cellars Wohler Vineyard (Russian River Valley) Pinot Noir: Are you seeing a pattern here? I love Russian River Valley Pinots! This particular one even got a mention in my novel and was mentioned in the highlights of my “Release PartyRound-up” post.

2010 Anaba Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir: I discovered this wine at my favorite restaurant, Picco in Larkspur, after driving by the winery hundreds of times. I finally stopped in at the tasting room, which is a quaint spot just off the 121/12 intersection in Carneros and blogged about it in July.

2010 Sequana Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir: This was a popular wine on many by-the-glass menus in the spring—and I was quite happy about that. I also love the darker, richer Sequana Pinot from Russian River Valley and compared the two in a postback in May.

2009 Cornerstone Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: I have to include at least one Napa wine on this list! And this is it. This new release from one of my favorite wineries is a delicious Cab, which I included the tasting notes for in my last post.

A few other wines that I really enjoyed in the past year were the 2009 Castello di Amarosa Sangiovese, the 2010 Tendril Cellars Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, 2010 Rubissow Mt. Veeder Merlot and the 2012 Hess Collection Albarino. I would love to hear your favorite wines of the past year—please post your comments below or on my Facebook page. Cheers!

P.S. The hardback edition of Where I Want to Be: A Wine Country Novel is still available for purchase at authorcortney.com or consider the ebook as a gift for yourself or a fiction-loving friend (no shipping fee, all you need is the recipient's email address). The ebook is exclusively for Kindle and the Kindle app for iPad, iPhone, and iMac.

P.P.S. I look forward to sharing more of my reviews and wine-tasting experiences with you in 2014. Happy Holidays!

Special Pinot Noirs from Sequana Vineyards

Named after the Franco-Roman goddess of the River Seine, which flows through the ancestral birthplace of Pinot Noir, Sequana wines are elegant and terroir-driven. Tasting two of Sequana’s current releases side-by-side showcases the contrasting characteristics between fruit from the Santa Lucia Highlands and the Russian River Valley. Winemaker James MacPhail, who also produces wine for his eponymous label, has crafted two unique and attractively priced Pinot Noirs from these regions!    

The 2010 Sequana Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir ($32/bottle) is bright and delicious with aromas of red cherry and fresh earth. Vivacious acidity complements cheerful flavors of red currant with lingering notes of vanilla and wood spice. I was impressed with this wine’s refreshing intensity on the mid-palate and the finish. It is medium-bodied and playful in the mouth. This is a perfect Pinot Noir for lighter dishes like pork, roast chicken, ahi tuna, or salmon.

The 2010 Sequana Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($38/bottle) is the darker, more concentrated of the two. Opaque in transparency and dark ruby in color, it offers an attractive perfume of dark berries, lavender, and baking spice. This wine is weighty and opulent with black cherry and cassis flavors. Although the RRV Pinot has ample acidity to balance the dusty tannins, it is a fuller, richer style than the SLH sibling. This gorgeous wine finishes with a healthy dose of sweet oak and blackberry fruit. It is a terrific match for a steak, duck breast, or charcuterie.

These two wines were received for sample purposes. Seek out your inner goddess at the Sequana website and stay tuned for the opening of the new tasting room in The Barlow in Sebastopol. The MacPhail wines can currently be tasted at the winery. Cheers!

Pinot Party at Fort Mason

Yesterday was the 8th Annual Pinot Days Grand Festival at Fort Mason in San Francisco. According to their website, it is the "largest gathering of Pinot Noir producers in the world." With more than 150 producers from California, Oregon, and France, there were many wines to try!

I attended the event with a fellow wine writer and friend, Alana Gentry ("Girl with a Glass", pictured at left). We arrived with no game plan, choosing to approach wineries at random (sometimes it was the label that caught our eye or the winery name or a crowded table that attracted us).

Although there were a few more corporate wineries with large production wines, it seemed like most of the Pinots we tasted were of limited production (a few hundred cases to a couple thousand cases)--and most of them were new to my palate. I can't say I was a fan of every wine I tasted, but after two hours, I had a long list of favorites:

Sequana Wines was a winery I recognized, but I didn't know they made so many vineyard-specific Pinot Noirs. The Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot was super tasty with nice depth and concentration. I also really liked the Dutton Ranch and Russian River Valley Pinots.

Expression Wines was a winery that sounded familiar but I couldn't recall ever tasting their wines previously. They were pouring a trio of Pinot Noirs; one each from Oregon, Sonoma, and Napa. I don't know many wine companies that can offer such a diverse portfolio of wines. Each wine was delicious, full-flavored, and unique!

Woodenhead was another winery that was new to me. Their Russian River Valley Pinot was light and juicy. The second wine they poured us was called "Wet Kiss" and it suited its name--very playful and easy to drink. This winery makes quite a few vineyard designate wines, including Zinfandel and French Colombard.

Cornerstone Cellars was a familiar name to me because of their tasting room in Yountville, but they also produce Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley. This was news to me. We tasted two vintages....both were beautiful wines with elegant aromas. Light-hued in the glass. Distinctly Oregonian. At the time, my mouth was watering for duck confit; it would have been the perfect compliment to these wines.

JCB is a collection of wines inspired by Jean-Charles Boisset's French heritage and his love for California winemaking. I loved the simple black label with gold lettering--très chic! They were pouring a very refreshing Brut Rosé from Burgundy as well as a few Pinot Noirs.

Just when we thought we had had enough, I spotted the sign for Abiouness Wines, which I had heard were lovely but had never tasted. Unknowingly, we saved the best for last. Nicole Abiouness, the winemaker/owner, was happy to tell us about her wines and the distinct vineyard sites from which she sources the grapes. I loved the Hudson Vineyard Pinot; it was concentrated with a rich mouthfeel and dark fruit flavors. Oh so wonderful!


I was glad to see a few familiar wineries whose wines I always enjoy...including Dutton-Goldfield, Domaine Serene, Sojourn Cellars, Failla, and Eric Kent Wine Cellars.

Always held in mid-June at Fort Mason, I strongly recommend you attend Pinot Days next year. What a fun event!