2017 Pinot Noir Summa Vineyard

I was blown away by the Chardonnays and Pinots I tasted from Rivers-Marie this year. Proprietors Thomas Rivers Brown and Genevieve Marie Welsh and their team have done a tremendous job in getting the best of the growing collection of vineyard sites they work with. On that note, readers will see a number of new wines in this range, including a Chardonnay and Pinot from Platt and the Chardonnay Purrington Rued. Thomas Brown describes 2017 as a cool year with a harvest that started about ten days later than 2016. Almost all of the fruit was picked after the intense Labor day heat spikes. In tasting, the 2017s are all precise, with bright acids and remarkable energy. I very much like the vibrancy of the 2017 Chardonnays. The Pinots are wonderfully perfumed and full of detail. Only the Bearwallow Pinot is less than truly impressive. As a reminder, all of the Pinots are made with destemmed fruit, with the exception of the Occidental Ridge Vineyard and Silver Eagle, which see 10-15% whole clusters.