2006 Pinot Noir Savoy

Eric Sussman believes that, overall, syrah outperformed pinot noir in 2006. In fact, he said, 2006 was an ideal vintage for the former variety, thanks to the long, slow harvest that lasted until the end of October. "Don't get me wrong, though: pinot also did really well," he explained. "The late summer, early fall and into the harvest itself were cool, especially in the Russian River Valley, and that's great for pinot." Sussman did less destemming in 2006 than in the past, and he believes this will result in wines with greater aromatic complexity, but he emphasized that the only reason to take this approach is "when the stems are truly ripe, as they were in '06."