Clos Tita

Dave Estrada loves a good Burgundian style Pinot Noir, and is a big fan of the Pinots that his compadre Jeff Emery of Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard enjoys making. When he learned about the Bailey’s Branciforte Ridge vineyard, he figured he needed to get some of that. Wise move, as Jeff’s 2004’s from this vineyard turned out to be all Gold medal winners in the 2008 San Francisco Chronicle competition.

Most of the fruit for this 05 blend comes from this mountainous vineyard near the old Jarvis Road vineyard that was purchased from Ken Burnap, Jeff Emery’s former partner, by the current owners of Vine Hill. The remainder comes from Dave’s Scotts Valley estate vineyard.

Aromas are quite fruit forward, with baked raspberry bars, dried apricots, cranberry sauce, intriguing juicy fruit gum, dried rose petals and smoky gooseberry. This is one complex fruity, perfumey and herbal wine, with sassafras, birch bark, and a bit of tea-smoked duck to add to the intrigue. Truly a marvel for an 05, and although it is a bit young, the flavours and texture are delightful. The color is as gorgeous as it gets with Pinot: clear, pure dark raspberry. And the flavours are all you’d expect and more, featuring rich red raspberry, cherry pie, rhubarb, sweet tobacco leaf, orange peel, cinnamon and nutmeg.

There are distinctive herbal components here as well, with chervil, basil and tarragon playing a civilized game of badminton, keeping the birdie in the air at all times. My guess is the best birdie that would pair with this beauty is pheasant stuffed with herbed wild rice, although lemon-rosemary chicken and pork tenderloin with raspberry-chile relish are all confirmed fabulous pairs. There is a lithe and lovely texture to this wine that carries all the complexity to a long, flirtatious and flashy finish. This is a brilliant effort that combines new world fruit with old world style winemaking.

Reviewed April 22, 2008 by Laura Ness.