2011 Pinot Noir Goldridge

I'm always a bit surprised when Tom Dehlinger reminds me that his red wines are aged in up to 50% new oak because its influence barely registers when I taste them young--much less old.Using "the best oak that we can afford," which in Dehlinger's case means Taransaud, Francois Freres, Remond and Rousseau, "means that it works in harmony with the wine, not against it.If you notice it young there's a really good chance that it will still be there later."In the cool 2011 vintage, when Dehlinger's fruit came in at lower Brix level than normal (21.5 degrees, on average, for the cabernet, as an example) it was important to not try to overextract, he told me."Otherwise you're trying to make the wine something it isn't."That led to a discussion of how many wines from cool vintages often outpace their warmer-year siblings, "which show a lot when they're young but come up short on stamina."

I'm always a bit surprised when Tom Dehlinger reminds me that his red wines are aged in up to 50% new oak because its influence barely registers when I taste them young--much less old.Using "the best oak that we can afford," which in Dehlinger's case means Taransaud, Francois Freres, Remond and Rousseau, "means that it works in harmony with the wine, not against it.If you notice it young there's a really good chance that it will still be there later."In the cool 2011 vintage, when Dehlinger's fruit came in at lower Brix level than normal (21.5 degrees, on average, for the cabernet, as an example) it was important to not try to overextract, he told me."Otherwise you're trying to make the wine something it isn't."That led to a discussion of how many wines from cool vintages often outpace their warmer-year siblings, "which show a lot when they're young but come up short on stamina."

Tom and Eva Dehlinger's 2012 Pinots are the highlights in this range of current and future releases. Tom Dehlinger describes 2012 as a generous vintage that required considerable thinning. There are four 2012 Pinots, so readers will have quite a bit to choose from, but all the wines are knockouts. The 2011 Pinots and Syrahs are also delicious, but a little more introverted. Today, the 2011 Chardonnay looks like the best wine of the vintage here. Readers should note there is no 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon; all the best fruit went into the Claret. I saw the Dehlingers just as Eva Dehlinger was about to go back to Beaune, where she is in school. It will be interesting to see to what extent that experience and a full immersion in the Burgundian culture influences the future direction at Dehlinger, one of Sonoma's benchmark estates.

Tom and Eva Dehlinger's wines stand out for many reasons, including their very fair prices. This year I thought the Syrahs were particularly of note. Yields have been down in the last few years because of a conversion back to cane pruning, but with 2011 yields are up to a bit higher than normal. The Dehlinger wines are beautiful, full of character and richly deserving of a broader audience.