2015 Estate Pinot Noir

The 2015 Pinot Noir DuMOL Estate Vineyard is a step up over the 2016 (splitting hairs) and offers slightly more depth and richness. Savory red and black fruits, scorched earth, and savory spices all give way to a medium to full-bodied, deep, rich, mineral-laced 2015 that has enough depth and structure to keep for a decade or more. I still remember tasting with Andy Smith while I was writing The Rhône Report and I was thrilled to be able to sit down and go through all of his wines on this occasion. Stylistically, Smith makes a fresh, vibrant style of wine, yet I never find them lacking for depth and or texture. Looking at the Chardonnays, these are made in a reductive, age-worthy style and the clear majority have distinctly Burgundian profiles. These are beautiful wines that, at least to my palate, surpass the quality of the Pinot Noirs, which are slightly more variable. Nevertheless, the top Pinot Noirs are certainly up with the crème de la crème of the region. While Andy favors a tight, age-worthy style of Chardonnay, the Pinot Noirs are made in a slightly more forward style. In addition to the Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, DuMOL also produces a handful of world-class Syrahs, as well as one of the top examples of Viognier coming out of California. Both the 2015s and 2016s reviewed here are terrific wines, with the 2016s showing slightly more balance and elegance, but you can’t go wrong with either vintage here.

Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2015 Pinot Noir Estate Vineyard is beautifully scented of red roses, oolong tea, dusty soil and cinnamon stick with touches of cranberries, rhubarb and fungi. It displays incredible structure on the medium-bodied palate with very firm, very ripe tannins and an electric backbone of freshness supporting the densely packed perfumed red fruits, finishing with great length and depth.

The 2015 Pinot Noir Estate Vineyard is a huge, dense wine that is going to need at least a few years to come around. Black cherry, plum, licorice, spice and graphite notes infuse this sumptuous yet tannic Pinot Noir. Readers won't find much vintage 2015 sexiness here, as the Estate is decidedly powerful and tannic. Andy Smith chose to vinify the Estate with no whole clusters.