Patz & Hall Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 2009

Pure, rich and focused, with firm, ripe, vivid plum, black cherry and raspberry fruit that's full-bodied, intense, complex and concentrated, gaining momentum and ending with a long, full, persistent finish. Drink now through 2016.

Dried berry, herb, mint and sage provide a complex flavor mix, and this offers depth and suppleness. Drink now through 2011.

Good medium red. Pure, floral aromas of cherry, raspberry and blueberry; a real fruit bomb on the nose. Then juicy and pure in the mouth, with ripe acidity enlivening the wine's ripe red fruit flavors. Not especially fleshy but fresh and persistent. Made from a blend of 15 sites, most of them close to the coast.

The generic 2008 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast has earthy, herbal and black cherry fruit notes along with a hint of new oak. Medium-bodied, with a good finish, it is not complex, but it is a mouthfilling, solidly made Pinot Noir to drink over the next 3-4 years.

(all declassified fruit from Patz & Hall's single-vineyard sites): Bright, deep red. Bright aromas of raspberry, cherry, flowers and spices. Sweet, lush and flavorful; a red fruit bomb framed and enlivened by pepper and spice nuances, plus a whiff... Stephen Tanzer's IWC. A Pinot Noir wine from California in USA. 2009 Patz and Hall Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 750ml

Medium ruby-red. Captivating aromas of black fruits, violet, bitter chocolate, smoked meat and underbrush. Sweet, dense and expressive in the mouth, with briary black fruit flavors complicated by violet and meat and supported by a firm mineral spine. Tannins are firm by sweet. This is better than a "regional" pinot has any right to be, but then many Sonoma Coast vineyards carried tiny crop loads in 2005 due to poor weather during the flowering.

The 1999 Pinot Noir Sonoma (1,400 cases) is a seductive, smoky Pinot offering jammy strawberry and cherry fruit, a velvety texture, and a medium to full-bodied personality. Drink it over the next 3-4 years.