2006 Pinot Noir Tous Ensemble

Wells Guthrie is aware that many people have called him a syrah producer who also makes pinot noir, but he's trying to turn that perception around 180 degrees.There's no question that recent vintages here have placed more emphasis on finesse than Guthrie's earlier efforts.But he is quick to state that he isn't trying to make Burgundy in Sonoma. "Of course our fruit is richer, but there's nothing wrong with emulating and aspiring to the purity of Burgundy," he told me. He added that he is trying to do the same thing with syrah as with pinot, "meaning trying to get sap, not syrup." Guthrie's new winery, perched high above the north end of East Side Road outside Healdsburg, is a stunning, state-of-the-art facility with fabulous western vistas-one of the more dramatic sites I visited on this trip.