2022 Pinot Noir Dune and Mountain

What strikes me most about proprietor Bradley Brown is that he’s a no-nonsense kind of person. Direct and uncompromising, his ethos is also unmistakable in the wines. It’s nearly impossible not to be charmed by this vast array of offerings from both estate and non-estate sites in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Chalone and the Gabilan Mountains. Brown and winemaker Blake Yarger churn out some of the most convincing California Rhône-style wines I’ve ever tasted, and the Pinot Noirs are not far behind. A trip to the Northern Rhône in 2016 recalibrated Brown’s approach, driving him toward using more whole clusters and beginning aging his Syrahs in 300-liter barrels.

I tasted a mix of 2021s and 2022s. Consistency and quality across the dizzying 24-wine lineup is undeniable. The only slight hiccup is the whites, which pale in 2022 compared to the monumental 2021 reds. Oak integration across the board is precise and adept, as Brown muses, “I consider oak a flaw.” Many of these wines could easily fool me in a blind tasting, particularly the 2021 Homestead, a doppelgänger for Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The Cabernet Sauvignon Odeon Betchart Vineyard is a pleasant surprise for a Rhône-dominated lineup—a gorgeous rendition of the variety that speaks in a different accent than the rest of the wines here. All of the Syrahs punch far above their weight, but when it comes to Big Basin, it’s awfully hard to go wrong.