2011 Pinot Noir (San Mateo County)

"We've never worked so hard for so little wine," Kevin Harvey told me as we tasted through his 2011s."We just got murdered" on yields, he said, pointing out that production was off by a full 75% from normal, "and that was after 2010, which was low as well."For example, only 3 barrels of wine were made from his 10-acre Alpine vineyard this vintage and while that's the most extreme example, "it was brutal across the board."To compensate, Harvey has at least temporarily revived his negociant label, Alesia, for 2011 "because we had access to fruit grown in great vineyards by people we trust," meaning Alder Springs for chardonnay and pinot noir.The barrel program continues to be refined here and winemaker Jeff Brinkman is working with Francois Freres barrels that are made from 4-year air-dried staves that Rhys purchases and delivers to the cooperage in St. Romain for construction.