California Pinot Noir...Crossing the Chasm

I've been drinking and collecting California Pinot Noir for a few years now. In that short time, I have noticed that California Pinot Noir has gone through an incredible transformation. Pinot was already becoming "hip" before the move "Sideways" hit the silver screen, but Pinot popularity soared after the critically acclaimed film enthused thousands (and maybe millions) of folks not only to drink wine, but to give Pinot Noir a shot. The result? Exploding quality and climbing prices (although I'd be careful to point out that quality has increased much moire than pricing).

There are now bona fide cult producers of Pinot such as Kosta Browne and Marcassin, and many other highly sought after wines such as Radio Coteau, Loring, Dumol, and many others.

Amidst all the hype, I have also noticed that there has been a quiet separation between old school producers of Pinot Noir and the new school of Pinot Noir producers. Among the old school producers, I count Littorai, Walter Hansel, Williams Selyem, and even Flowers to some extent. In the new school, we'll find names like Kosta Browne, Loring, Seasmoke, Macphail, APVin, Radio Coteau, Dumol, Siduri, Roar and many others.

The major difference I see between these two camps of producers is the level of emphasis on ripe fruit. While all the producers strive for optimally ripe fruit, some of them are picking their fruit so late these days that the alcohol content gets very high, which can cause a sensation of heat on my palate. It is probably one of the most damning characteristics of a wine to me. Once I taste heat, it is usually very unlikely that I'll like the wine.

Another characteristic of what I consider overripe fruit is the prevalence of candied, or brown sugar flavors. This flavor usually is accompanied by high viscosity that can often be cloying. These are wines that to me, often lose the elegance and silkiness that Pinot is known for in many circles and that's a shame.

These are the wines though that tend to get high scores from critics because of their "in your face" flavors and aromatics. They are also, IMO, wines that may not stand the test of prolonged ageing. Although the jury is still out on these wines, I have my doubts about the longevity of dry table wine that clocks in at just under 16% alc vol (which means it could be 1% more). Port, which has 17% alc vol also has relatively high levels of residual sugar, so I am unsure whether one can equate the longevity of Port with that of Pinot at similar alcohol levels.

Gladly, there's a style of wine for everyone out there. Big Pinots and elegant Pinots. But I do think the Pinot world seems to be more polarized these days and that is an interesting development to watch in the coming years.

What are your thoughts?