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Merlot sales, on the other hand, have not changed significantly
since the movie's opening, the petulant rant of one of the movie's
characters (Miles) against the stuff notwithstanding. While still the
most popular red varietal in America, sales over the last year have
remained generally flat, which also describes an awful lot of the Merlot
being sold.  Jeff Wilkes sent us three samples of his
J. Wilkes Pinot Noirs, so we took
advantage of a dinner opportunity with Margaret Marchak and
Mark Schreier to try them. Wilkes, whose small winery is located in
Santa
Maria, California, spent 18 years at Bien Nacido Vineyard, focusing on
everything from marketing and sales to improving farming techniques and
upgrading trellises. In 2001, he struck out on his own, creating J.
Wilkes with the intent of producing small lots of cool climate Santa
Barbara Pinot Noirs that have extraction while maintaining the natural
delicacy of the grapes. His primary focus is on the vineyard that he
knows best, Bien Nacido, but he's also gone as far afield as Napa to
source quality fruit. 2003 J. Wilkes Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir Solomon Hills Vineyard Block 3, $37, 14.5% alc.: Only 125 cases of this ruby dark garnet Pinot Noir were produced; it exudes effusive aromatics of black cherry and plum, with subtle accents of smoke and spice and a big but not excessive kiss of oak. These all follow through on the palate, with big fruit on entry, zippy acidity and tannins and heat that show more toward the earthy finish. Margaret described it as "like jam." Medium full bodied and somewhat syrah - like in texture, it opens nicely with air, but never quite loses the hot, tannic bite. A wine with more pluses than minuses, needing a few years to tame the tannins, but what about the heat? 2003 J. Wilkes Napa Pinot Noir Vall - Foss Vineyard Block T6, $27, 14.1% alc.: "This wine has no nose at all," Kim exclaimed upon putting hers into the glass of this ruby garnet libation, adding that it has a "very cherry" character after a sip or two. I was able to coax some cherry and licorice with vigorous swirlatude, but the flavors are much more expressive, gaining some brown spice, chocolate and maple syrup as well. Pretty smooth, with moderate tannins, this is neither as big nor as hot as the Solomon Hills model, and it shows better balance. As it opens, it becomes reminiscent of white house ice cream, all cherry and vanilla, making a nice match for a double cream Fromage d'Affinois and pita bread. 175 cases made. 2002 J. Wilkes Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard Block Q, $50, 14.5% alc.: Slightly cloudy ruby garnet in color with a fairly generous nose of almost candied cherry and black cherry, echoing and expanding on the palate with some added cranberry, pomegranate and again, something like white house ice cream as it opens. Medium to medium full bodied, this is better behaved than the other two we tasted on this occasion, but perhaps at the expense of some intensity; it's smooth, kind o' creamy, not at all hot, and not too tannic. In short, it's user friendly and makes a fine match for some delicious broiled Black Pearl Salmon. 215 cases made. 342 Oliver Road Santa Barbara, CA 93109 Tel: (805) 899-2845 Fax: 805) 957-0101  We were fans of
Tony Soter's Pinots long before I had the chance to
interview him last October, and the following three selections do
nothing to deflate our generally high opinion of them. The two half
bottles were tasted side by side, with Kim and this taster differing in
our preference for one over the other.1998 Etude Carneros Pinot Noir, 375 ml, $19.99, 13.5% alc.: There's just a hint of brick to the ruby garnet color of this fine Pinot Noir; on the nose, it shows alluring aromatics of smoky plum, black cherry and cola that follow through in the broad, fairly dense flavors with some added notes of chocolate, mushroom and forest floor, all of which are anchored with an earthy base. Moderately tannic, with balanced acidity, this is drinking quite well right now, and if it could finish a little longer, that's the only complaint I have here, and a small complaint it is. 1999 Etude Carneros Pinot Noir, 375 ml, $19.99, 13.5% alc.: Ruby garnet in color, with a stingy nose that's not giving much; the flavors pick things up nicely with earthy, candied black cherry, with moderate tannins, zippy acidity and a somewhat truncated finish. Not too complex, but enjoyable for what's there; Kim likes this one better than me, calling it "eminently drinkable." The following wine was greatly enjoyed with Dan and Carol Myers and Scott "The Geek" Tobias. 2001 Etude Carneros Pinot Noir, $37.99, 14.5% alc.: A smoke tinged ruby garnet, this features spicy clove and a nice kiss of sweet oak over rich smoky black cherry with a hint o' cola; Dan added an impression of pumpkin pie spice, while Kim mentioned a little horsey barnyard and leather. Showing a little more earth on the palate than on the nose, with medium to medium full body, fine tannins and excellent but not excessive acidity, this strikes an elegant balance, leaving a long, lingering finish. Rich, sweet and perfumed, it is a lovely Pinot Noir, one of the best Etudes we've had, and it still has three to five years of improvement ahead of it.  We like
Brian Loring and his wines, so when got our hands on a few of
his latest offerings, we didn't waste much time seeing how they were. We
maybe could have gotten our clammy hands on "The Llama" or the
"Naylor
Dry Hole" (how does he get away with putting that on a wine label?),
just for the colorful names, but these two proved to be excellent
selections from reliable, proven sources. 2003 Loring Wine Company Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard, $42, 15.2% alc.: The tarry black cherry and plum aromatics of this ruby dark garnet carry over onto the palate with some earthy undertones, medium tannins, good acidity and a fairly long finish; as it opens, notes of underbrush, decaying vegetation and a little coffee make themselves known. Big, bold and primary, this may not be all that complex, but it makes up for it in richness and intensity of flavor. 2003 Loring Wine Company Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard, $42, 14.5% alc.: Ruby dark garnet with perfumed black cherry on the nose, along with accents of sweet spice and a hint of decaying vegetation. The big flavors emphasize the black cherry, with a note of chocolate in support, soft tannins, balanced acidity and a good finish. Primary, and not terribly complex, but this gives everything you might expect from one of Brian's wines; a big, ebullient, drink - me - now kind of Pinot.  I'd heard good things about these two single vineyard wines from
Morgan,
a producer whose wares we'd never sampled before, so it only seemed
right to check them out in our never - ending quest to explore the
varieties of fine Pinot Noir.2001 Morgan Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir Double L Vineyard, $34.99, 14.2 % alc.: Despite being medium bodied at best, with a little air, this slightly smoky tinged ruby garnet shows impressive concentration in the bright, almost candied smoky black cherry cough drop and Asian 5 spice flavors; would that the nose was half as demonstrative. It does seem to put on some weight as it opens, becoming medium to medium - full bodied, with moderate tannins, balanced acidity and a fairly long finish that turns a little earthy. If I'd like a few more earthy bass notes in the middle, it doesn't mean that this isn't a nice wine for this particular style. 2001 Morgan Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard, $44.99, 14.2 % alc.: Ruby garnet, with a big red cherry nose and cherry cough drop flavors shaded with hints of earth and spice in the background and some smoke as it opens. Silky smooth, with low tannins, good acids and a long finish, but this doesn't fill out with air like the Double L. A pretty good Pinot, but I'd like a little more depth and complexity here; as it is, it's overpriced for what's in the bottle.  We're always
happy to taste another
Panther Creek Pinot Noir, which are
some of our favorite Willamette Valley wines, so when we ran across this
one that we missed with the last batch of '98s, we didn't hesitate to
pick a few up and try one. Not surprisingly, we liked what we found.1998 Panther Creek Willamette Pinot Noir Freedom Hill, $52, 13% alc.: A slightly rusty dark garnet in color, fading at the rim, with a solid core of rich, intense almost candied smoky black cherry on the nose, this gives an insinuation of heat, though little, if any is actually present; as it opens, notes of underbrush emerge. All of these follow through on the palate with a smooth, rich concentration on a medium full - bodied frame, with the candied aspect being toned down considerably. A few hours in a decanter really helps this, and as it continues to open in the glass, some rock & rye - cola and subtle notes of underbrush and soft leather are revealed. Two or three years' worth of silky tannins aren't intrusive in the least, and all of the components are seamlessly integrated in this fine, harmonious Pinot Noir. Best of all, its best days are ahead of it. And finally, I unearthed a '96 Panther Creek Freedom Hill in an out - of - the - way bin, and being a fan, I had to bring it home and try it. 1996 Panther Creek Willamette Pinot Noir Freedom Hill, $38.99, 12.5% alc.: Ruby dark garnet, with big, earthy black cherry and plum on the nose, with flavors that echo, gaining shades of underbrush and a note of cola as it opens. There's still a good dose of tannins here, along with zippy acidity, and if the wine isn't all that complex, or as substantial as the '98, '99 and '02 models that we've enjoyed, it's a solid effort on its own terms. It still seems to have plenty of fruit, so it could actually improve over the next year or two.  Reporting from Day-twah,
Bastardo
Other Recent Wine Explorations Winemaker Profile: Whitney Fisher Giorgio Rivetti & the Wines of La Spinetta
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