Hip Tastes Blog

2001 Archstone Vineyards Russian River Pinot Noir

Caveats first: I have absolutely no idea how you can find this wine. It was a gift, and the back label makes clear that only 29 cases of it were made, so my guess is that it's beyond the reach of most mere mortals. Does that make it any less worth hearing about? I certainly hope not, but just wanted to manage everyone's expectations before I start rhapsodizing.

So now that that's out of the way, a little more background info: Archstone is a little-known division of The Chalone Group, which was purchased by Diageo for a cool $260 mill in 2005, according to a 10K statement I found on Yahoo! Finance. The back label of the wine goes on to say that the 29 cases of it made were crafted exclusively for Shareholders of Chalone Wine Group. Somehow, it found its way into my hands with six years of bottle age. Eeeeexcellent, Smithers.

What's it taste like? Great question - I can't wait to tell you all about it. I'll start with what it looks like, though (the somm in me coming out) - it's definitely a Pinot with some age to it, which shows up in its brick-orange colored rim.

On the nose, it's absolutely fabulous: It smells like a mature wine (so that means you'll pick up "developed" notes like figs, raisins, and prunes). Besides all that there are layered scents of leather, clove, allspice, sage brush, poppy seed, and dark chocolate. I also pick up a little orange rind and brown sugar - sort of like you might smell in mulled wine.

The palate delivers the great balance you'd expect from a classy Pinot along with a soulful depth I'm just not used to in California versions of the grape. Flavors of dark fruits including brown-black plums, black-ripe cherries, and blackberries are backed up by hints of tobacco, more clove, espresso, herbs, and smoke. The finish wraps up with tobacco and wood char (in a good way! that's the oak talking, after six years of mellowing) and more black fruit, all spiked with a subtle note of allspice.

My ONLY gripe is that the alcohol is still noticeable - meaning the wine's a touch out of balance (it's 14.2%, after all). Scores a 96-98 rating in my book. Gives Cali Pinot a great name (and Chalone's to blame, bless them).