2009 Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast)

Bob Cabral has added Jeff Mangahas, long-time winemaker at Hartford Family Winery, as a second assistant winemaker (joining Phil McGahan) and allowing Cabral "to spend more time herding cats" for this ever-growing enterprise. The new winery, which carried a price tag of about $15 million, is up and running and, frankly, is pretty spectacular, especially compared to the collection of trailers and sheds that made up the original facility. "What's cool about it is that we were able literally to decide what to put in place, and where, from the ground up. There was no make-do or adapting, adjusting or whatever. For a winemaker that's like dying and going to heaven," said Cabral. During the course of our tasting, he told me that 2009 reminds him a lot of 2007. "And it makes for a good contrast to the '08s, which are more dense because of the low yields. Since people seem to pretty much want to drink their pinots young, '09 will be an ideal vintage and will hopefully help people keep their hands off their '08s for a while."