2009 Joseph Phelps Pinot Noir Freestone Vineyards
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
(vinified with 30% whole clusters, down a bit from the previous vintage): Good full red. Perfumed, high-toned aromas of red and dark berries, pungent spicy oak and flowers. Youthfully tight and not showing its flesh today, with a peppery quality contributing to the wine's juiciness and impression of structure. Still a bit edgy on the finish and in need of another year or two of bottle aging.
Critic scores
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
I was deeply impressed with the wines I tasted from Joseph Phelps's Freestone property on the Sonoma Coast. I guess making world-class reds in Napa Valley isn't enough. The Pinots are made with some whole clusters, but it is the distinctive personality of the Calera clones that seems to define those wines. The Chardonnays are both done in a full malolactic style. The Pastorale sees a little bit more time in oak and also gets a slightly higher percentage of new barrels. These beautiful Chardonnays and Pinots deserve considerable attention. The 2010 Chardonnays were scheduled to be bottled in March 2012. The 2009 Pinot Noir Freestone Vineyards bursts from the glass with an exciting array of sweet black cherries, herbs, dried flowers, licorice and tar, all supported by lively minerality. This focused, beautifully delineated Pinot is first-class all the way. The Freestone bottling is 53% Pastorale Vineyard and 47% Quarter Moon Vineyard.
The 2009 Pinot Noir Freestone Vineyards bursts from the glass with an exciting array of sweet black cherries, herbs, dried flowers, licorice and tar, all supported by lively minerality. This focused, beautifully delineated Pinot is first-class all the way. The Freestone bottling is 53% Pastorale Vineyard and 47% Quarter Moon Vineyard. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2019. I was deeply impressed with the wines I tasted from Joseph Phelps’s Freestone property on the Sonoma Coast. The Pinots are made with some whole clusters, but it is the distinctive personality of the Calera clones that seems to define those wines. The Chardonnays are both done in a full malolactic style. The Pastorale sees a little bit more time in oak and also gets a slightly higher percentage of new barrels. These beautiful Chardonnays and Pinots deserve considerable attention. The 2010 Chardonnays were scheduled to be bottled in March 2012. Tel. (707) 963-2745
About the producer
California winery Joseph Phelps is best known for its flagship Insignia cuvée, one of the first and finest proprietary red wines in the Napa Valley.