This region in western Mendocino has long been a little-known sweet spot for Pinot Noir and a few other projects like hearty Gewurztraminer. But fame of sorts arrived for Anderson Valley as it was traversing a weird progression of vintages (go to: sfg.ly/QCXeMM).
The 2008s were largely hobbled by nearby wildfires, which rendered many wines not only smoky but ashy; the buoyant 2009 vintage brought a great passel of wines but also some signs that the stylistic muddle that had taken place in other Pinot regions - Sta. Rita Hills, Russian River Valley - had also arrived in the environs of Philo.
And now we have the 2010s, a colder and more difficult year than '09 - with a few hot days that led to a lot of uneven flavors.
At their best, California's 2010 Pinots have shown a gossamer touch as I've tasted through them this year. But they have also underscored the identity crisis for a grape that could have taken a lesson from Carly Rae Jepsen about finessing a star turn.
Overexposed, maybe? I couldn't get that out of my mind as our panel sat down for a lineup of about 40 Pinot Noirs from Mendocino County. Among the few bottles from outside Anderson Valley, 2010 was pleasant enough; for example, Girasole Pinot Noir from Charlie Barra's organically farmed Redwood Valley plantings is a benchmark for how California can pull off value-priced Pinot without resorting to dark magic.
A divide in style
When we got to the core of Anderson Valley, though, what became clear was that the incursion of big North Coast names is creating a stark divide in style.
Nothing wrong with a bit of viticultural carpetbagging where Anderson Valley is concerned - some of its finest examples have come from outsiders like Williams Selyem and Littorai - but the wines that are intended for a tasting-room shelf in Napa, as one person put it, aren't doing the rural Mendocino stretches of Highway 128 any favors. (One exception worth noting is Twomey, which seems to have finessed a Pinot style that remains true to place while still serving as a Silver Oak sibling.)
This is all part of Anderson Valley 2.0. But 2010 also brought out the unpleasant side of more ambitious winemaking: too many roasted flavors and hard edges to the wines, too many picking decisions that landed a few days too late. Anderson Valley's classic, tightly wound flavors in particular seem to suffer in this scenario.
Power of site
Not to discount what worked well in 2010. When grapes were caught at the right moment and sorted diligently, the resulting wines could be gorgeous - as witnessed by Jason Drew's 2010 from Morning Dew Vineyard, the ranch owned by Williams Selyem founder Burt Williams. It's a pinnacle of Anderson Valley's style. (I also recently tasted Williams' own 2009 vintage from that property - an object lesson in the power of site, and a reminder of what first drew red-wine pioneers there.)
The Londer label, which had been a stalwart of that middle era in Anderson Valley when Pinot first came to the fore, had its strongest lineup in years with 2010. It's still possible to find energy-filled wines that show the possibility of the sandstone and clay loam soils that made the area so compelling.
We've arrived at a curious time for Anderson Valley. It has hit critical mass for a Pinot-growing region, and with that has come a culture clash.
There's more opportunity than ever for success. But perhaps the stakes are higher now than when Boonville was a quiet asterisk in California wine.
2010 Drew Morning Dew Vineyard Anderson Valley Pinot Noir ($48, 13.5% alcohol): What a pairing - Jason Drew, one of Mendocino's best talents, combined with fruit from Williams Selyem founder Burt Williams' vineyard above Philo. A mix of lesser-used vine selections (the 828 clone, plus material replanted from Rochioli and one thought to have a top Burgundy lineage) makes this a shy wine at first. But its mysterious, fecund nature comes forward, full of plum skin and dark loam and anise, with fantastic energy and minerality. It's ready for a long life. That's not to diminish the charms of the savory, tightly wound 2010 Drew Fog-Eater ($42, 13.6%), which blends Morning Dew and the Balo site. But the Morning Dew is a sign of two master talents in sync.
2010 Straight Line Mendocino Pinot Noir ($28, 13.4%): Jon Grant, who also makes the Couloir wines, devised this blend using a mix of Mendocino fruit - mostly from three Anderson Valley sites (Monument Tree, Londer, Roma's) plus some grapes from the Oppenlander site in northern Mendocino and from Chileno Valley in Marin. Perfumed and savory, it brims with raspberry and talc, and those lifted aromas so classic to Mendocino. A welcome light touch here, of the sort that once made Anderson Valley wines stand out.
2010 Londer Vineyards Anderson Valley Pinot Noir ($30, 14.3%): After selling their estate vineyard last year, Larry and Shirlee Londer have focused on their brand, and 2010 marks their best vintage in years. This blend is as dense and stylish as Londer usually is, with oak toast to the plum fruit but also a graceful mineral edge that sings of classic Anderson Valley. Their 2010 Ferrington Vineyard ($38, 14.5%) mixes that famous site's broad shoulders with a great raciness, but the basic bottle is tribute to the valley's best traditions.
2010 Knez Anderson Valley Pinot Noir ($27, 13.4%): With help from winemaker Anthony Filiberti (Anthill Farms), Peter Knez - the new owner of the beloved Demuth and Cerise vineyards - offers a great affordable addition to the Anderson Valley roster. This blend from the two sites is still a bit quiet right now, marked by savory wood aromas and a sage-and-underbrush aspect. But the sappy berry fruit is enjoyable right now, as you'd hope for from a Pinot priced to show its origins but be enjoyed in the moment.
2010 Girasole Mendocino Pinot Noir ($16, 13.5%): Give Charlie Barra a lot of credit. After farming in Mendocino's Redwood Valley for nearly 60 years, he knows how to make the numbers work. That's why this subtle, strawberry-tinged effort, from Barra's own organic vineyards, rises above most Pinot Noir at this price and shows a truth to itself, with its floral and birch-bark aspects. Winemaker Jason Welch has found a way to let Pinot from a relatively warm spot speak with class and without pretense.
2010 Twomey Anderson Valley Pinot Noir ($50, 13.6%): Another score for winemaker Ben Cane, who has brought the Silver Oak empire a capability with Pinot Noir that should prompt jealousy among the other Napa names in Anderson Valley, whose efforts can taste like rancid maple syrup in comparison. It's stylish and a touch sweet, but also subtle with its aromas of sweet bayberry and thyme. Clean and light-footed, this is (admittedly spendy) Pinot with great class.
2010 Navarro Methode a L'Ancienne Anderson Valley Pinot Noir ($29, 14.1%): Navarro's benchmark edition is a bit wonky in 2010, perhaps a sign of the vintage struggle. On one hand it's almost sharp, with cranberry and watermelon skin, and then it has a roasted, almost charred, black-fruit aspect. The Anderson Valley mineral presence is there, but this seems like a Navarro vintage for the near term.
