2012 Pinot Noir Goldridge

When I think of the Russian River Valley and its reference-point producers, Dehlinger is always top of mind. Eva Dehlinger is back from a year of studying viticulture in Burgundy. My sense is that she has the ambition to take quality through the roof at her family's winery. The 2012 Pinots are just as exuberant and beautiful from bottle as they were from barrel. The 2013s, on the other hand, are made in a more chiseled style and offer less in the way of immediate gratification. The Pinots and Syrahs are made with fully destemmed fruit and reflect a very classic sense of Russian River exuberance. I was also quite taken with the Cabernet Sauvignons this year, not just for their quality, but also for the exceptional value they provide consumers, something that applies to all the wines here. This is another superb set of wines from one of Sonoma's pioneering families.

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.