2008 Syrah Kick Ranch Vineyard

Paul Hobbs described 2009 as "a low-yield vintage that gave us fruit to make wines that are both powerful and fresh." He said that he was very pleased with the chardonnay because "we like to consider ourselves anti-sweet but definitely not anti-fruit or anti-flavor. The challenge is always to find that place where you have maximum concentration without going over the edge to overripeness and losing energy." Hobbs works with some of the best growers and vineyards in California, and pays a pretty penny for their fruit. "There are no shortcuts when it comes to the vineyard, but a lot of people have tried to find them."

This year I missed the globe-trotting Paul Hobbs, so I tasted with his assistant winemaker, Megan Baccitich, and winemaker Jason Valenti, who is overseeing Hobbs's new Crossbarn project. Baccitich describes the 2008 vintage for pinot noir as "all about spice and concentration. The yields were very low because of some horrible frosts, and the wines are really concentrated, but the interesting thing is that they are very approachable, which seems counterintuitive." As for the chardonnays, "the grapes had more acidity than normal, which is why they're lively and showing stronger citrus character than usual." She added that the early September heat spike seemed to have had more of an effect on the pinot noirs than the chardonnays, which were better able to maintain their acidity. Valenti suggested that the 2008 reds, in general, will be showing what they've got well before the more structured and densely fruity 2007s. "The long 2007 growing season meant great fruit development and integrated tannins so these will go on for a really long time," he said.