Can a Washington State Pinot hold its own versus classic producers from Sonoma and the Willamette Valley?
West Coast Pinot
American Pinot is a thing now. A lot of that has to do with the film Sideways, which features Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara County. However, the earliest Pinot from the US regions currently known for Pinot started in Sonoma around the mid-19th century. Many credit the founder of Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma as the first to bring over Pinot to California. In contrast, the two other major regions for Pinot, Santa Barbara and the Willamette Valley, only started around the 60’s and 70’s.
Old Sonoma Pinot is not to be confused with California wines that used to be labeled “Burgundy” from the late 19th century till as late as the 1970s, which were actually often made from Pinot St. George (or Negrette) along with Chauché Noir, Trousseau, Robin Noir, Cinsault and Crabb’s Burgundy (Refosco). These wines were actually more powerful and dark wines unlike typical Pinot today.
It’s not until the 1970s did producers start to really invest in Pinot like Joseph Swan in the Russian River Valley and eventually Williams Selyem in 1981, who started to make vineyard specific Pinot like in Burgundy. My Uncle has a stash of older Williams Selyem he thought we should look into, so I obliged.
To compare, I found a young Willamette Valley Pinot from one of the pioneers there, Ponzi, which was founded in 1970. According to the dealer where I bought it from, Robert Parker called Ponzi “a reference point for American Pinot Noir.”
In addition, I found a Pinot from Columbia Valley in Washington State, which is not known for Pinot. In 2020, less than 1% of Washington state red wine was Pinot. At the time of its production, the winery was run by the famous Washington State winemaker, Charles Smith, who produces K Vintners and Casa Smith. The winery, called Substance, was recently sold though. It’s not an expensive Pinot, so it’s not a fair comparison in terms of overall quality, but I was just curious, given the pedigree of the winemaker, if Pinot can be made well in Washington State and how it is stylistically.
Although the Columbia Valley is located at the 47th parallel with a temperate climate like Burgundy, eastern Washington is generally warmer in temperature. However, I know Charles Smith produces a label called Golden West, with Pinot made from a cooler part of the Columbia Valley. Substance doesn’t specify where their Pinot is sourced from though, so I still think it’s going to be riper than my preference. We’ll see.
Tasting Notes
2021 Substance “Pn” Columbia Valley Pinot Noir
Sustainable farming. 70% destemmed. Native yeasts. Low intervention. Minimal sulfites. Aged 10 months in French Oak (5% new). This is ripe and kind of an overripe, pruney Pinot. Darker. Touch of oak spice. Medium-bodied. Some tannins. A slightly bulkier, Merlot-ish Pinot. 87
2019 Ponzi Vineyards Pinot Noir Reserve Willamette Valley
40% whole cluster. Fermentation in small lots, with daily punch-downs, Aged 20 months in 40% new French oak. Spicy Pinot. Sweet spices. Tea. Orange peel. Touch of chocolate. Dark red fruit. Medium-low acid. some tea and cola. Gets better as the oak integrates and more fruit comes out. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to revisit it the next day, but I think it still has more potential. 91+
2016 Williams Selyem Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
Bright nose with savory and spice notes on the nose. The palate follows through with similar notes, but starting to show dried fruit. A bit faded on the palate. Seems a bit old or in an awkward stage. Got a little better with time so maybe just in an in an in-between stage. The fruit became fresher mixed with savory tertiary notes. 91
2013 Williams Selyem Burt Williams’ Morning Dew Ranch Anderson Valley
More expressive than the Sonoma Coast. Nose shows some mushroomy, tertiary notes, a bit floral but the palate is still rather primary and seamless with a lightweight feel but intense. Medium acid. 93
Conclusion
Williams Selyem still hits the spot for me for Burgundy-inspired New World Pinot. I’m not sure if they have the same structure for aging as higher-end Burgundy, but they’re still to my liking. They’re pricey though. The Ponzi needed more time to integrate and was definitely more modern with its pronounced oak influence. Finally, the Substance Pn was unfortunately how I thought it would be: too ripe, dark and flabby. However, it doesn’t mean that some other parts of Washington or other producers can’t make an Old World style Pinot.