2011 Paul Hobbs Pinot Noir Hyde Vineyard

The 2011 Pinot Noir Hyde Vineyard, made from Calera and Pommard clonal material, displays a more earthy, clove, cinnamon and spicy character intertwined with plum and red currant fruit. This well-made, medium-bodied Pinot is best drunk over the next 4-5 years. Paul Hobbs has built quite an empire, both as a worldwide respected wine consultant and as the owner of his winery in Sonoma Valley. I reviewed his Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon cuvees in Issue 209, and on this visit I tasted through his 2011 and 2012 Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs as well as a few Syrahs. His wines consistently hit all the high notes, and Hobbs continues to be a serious talent. I particularly enjoy his Cross Barn, inexpensive Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The 2011 Chardonnays range from tiny productions of 138 cases for the Ulises Valdez to 3,600 for the Russian River Chardonnay. The 2012s all reveal the tremendous up-front fruit characteristics of this year along with surprisingly high average alcohols, and good fresh acids. Paul Hobbs has introduced two Cross Barn Pinot Noir cuvees, one from the Sonoma Coast and one from Anderson Valley. These wines use a tiny bit of stems during their fermentations, and spend four months in barrel, 15% of which is new. Tasting through these same cuvees in 2012 demonstrated just how gorgeous this vintage is across the board in Northern California. Tel. (707) 824-9879

The 2011 Pinot Noir Hyde Vineyard is much more polished than the 2010. The aromas and flavors are all beautifully articulated. Pretty and fruit driven, the 2010 is laced with sweet tobacco, cedar, sage and smoke. I very much like the way Hobbs has drawn out the density of the fruit but without any excess heaviness.

Dark ruby. Slowly opens up to display scents of dark berries, cherry-cola and mocha, with a brooding note of licorice in the background. Chewy and densely packed, with intense dark fruit flavors that are brightened by sneaky minerality. Shows very good energy on the finish, which leaves smoky cherry and black raspberry notes behind. This wine will definitely benefit from decanting if you plan on drinking it any time soon.