Pick My Next Bottle – 2016 Anderson Valley Pinot Noirs

The November Installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on 2016 Pinot Noir from the Anderson Valley. The purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar.

The winning bottle will be opened on Sunday and a Bottle Note will be published early next week.

2016 was a very good year for Anderson Valley Pinot Noir. Winter rains followed by a warm Spring and moderate Summer produced elegant wines. I suspect the wines below are all showing well with years to go if you so choose.

The Contenders:

• 2016 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Cerise Vineyard – The 2016 Pinot Noir Cerise Vineyard was aged 15 months in 35% new Austrian and 8% new French oak. Medium ruby, it opens with touches of tar and gunflint that give way to blueberries, blackberries, peppercorn, charcuterie, dried herbs and red berries. It’s medium-bodied and broody, giving up intense, savory layers with a surprisingly soft frame and well-woven freshness, finishing long and spicy. 92 points from the Wine Advocate.
• 2016 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard – A hugely promising wine, the 2016 Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard is fabulous. Rich, powerful and explosive, with notable fruit density, the Bearwallow is compelling. Inky red and purplish berry fruit and exotic spice notes are front and center. Even with all of its exuberance, the 2016 possesses tremendous structure and depth. Readers will have to be patient, as the Bearwallow does not seem to offer the early appeal of many the other wines in this range.  94 points from Vinous.
• 2013 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Ferrington Vineyard –  Medium ruby-purple, the 2016 Pinot Noir Ferrington Vineyard gives up aromas of crushed black cherry, warm blackcurrant and meaty touches to begin, with dusty earth, saline and crushed rock over blueberry and red berry sparks coming through with time plus notes of dried citrus peel and potpourri. Light to medium-bodied, it offers broody, savory-accented dark fruits in the mouth with a sturdy frame of very finely grained tannins and great freshness on the very long, very spicy finish. 93 points from the Wine Advocate.

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Thanks for voting! I’d love to see a comment below on why you picked one bottle over another. Also, let me know if you have any suggestions for the December installment of Pick My Next Bottle.