2006 Pinot Noir Chimera

After he does a four-day cold soak of the fruit, pinot specialist Sean Capiaux uses automated pumpover tanks that turn gently, allowing him to avoid punching down the cap and resulting, he says, in a softer extraction. Capiaux describes his set of 2006s as showier and more elegant than the 2005s, which he says are bigger and more tannic. The wines remain on their lees until being bottled in August. Capiaux works with a number of far-flung vineyards, using a low percentage of new oak and a portion of the stems. There is no obvious house style here; on the contrary, the wines I tasted were as different, one from another, as any recent set of North Coast pinots I can recall.