Pinot Noir - Vinrare - Buy Fine Wine Online - Fine Wines International

1975 Hoffman Mountain Ranch California (750ml)

$82.00

FineWine International

The quest for producing great Pinot Noir in California found a champion in Dr. Stanley Hoffman in the mid 1960s and 1970s. Working with the renowned winemaker, Andre Tchelistcheff Hoffman Mountain Ranch produced some 'world class' Pinot Noirs that are still talked about with great reverence from those who had the pleasure of tasting them back then. The HMR wines helped put Paso Robles on the map as a serious winegrowing region. Here is a chance to taste some California winemaking history for perhaps one of the last times.

1995 Rochioli Little Hill Block California (750ml)

$225.00

Allen Meadows, Burghound

Noticeable brett mixes with otherwise pretty primary and secondary red fruit aromas complement sweet and delicious flavors of significant distinction and fine length. There is a slightly candied element to the finish but this is really quite lovely as the brett does not overwhelm the nose. 88 pts.

1995 Skewis Floodgate California (750ml)

$82.00

1995 Williams Selyem Riverblock Vineyard California (750ml)

$109.00

Wine Spectator 90

"Takes a while to develop, but once the core of cherry, berry and spice unfolds, it reveals more compexlity and nuance, with hints of tea, cedar, anise aqnd oak on the finish."

1995 Williams Selyem Riverblock Vineyard California (1.5L)

$360.00

Wine Spectator 90

"Takes a while to develop, but once the core of cherry, berry and spice unfolds, it reveals more compexlity and nuance, with hints of tea, cedar, anise aqnd oak on the finish."

1996 Skewis Floodgate California (750ml)

$82.00

Wine Spectator 87

"Starts smooth, with ripe cherry and herbal mushroom flavors turning tart and focused on the finish. (240 cases produced)"

1996 Skewis Montgomery Vineyard California (750ml)

$82.00

1996 Williams Selyem Coastlands California (750ml)

$136.00

1996 Williams Selyem Hirsch California (750ml)

$109.00

Wine Spectator 88

"Firm, with chewy tannins and a core of flavors built around wild berry, black cherry, sage, mineral and spice. Best from 2000 through 2006."

1996 Williams Selyem Riverblock Vineyard California (750ml)

$147.00

Wine Spectator 90

Boasts a complex, intriguing array of ripe plum, cherry, cola, spice and anise, not especially dense but distinctive and elegant, long on the finish.

1996 Williams Selyem Riverblock Vineyard California (750ml)

$147.00

Wine Spectator 90

Boasts a complex, intriguing array of ripe plum, cherry, cola, spice and anise, not especially dense but distinctive and elegant, long on the finish.

1997 Skewis Montgomery Vineyard California (750ml)

$55.00

Wine Spectator

Serves up a pretty stream of spicy wild berry and black cherry fruit accented by spice and cedar notes. Turns firm and crisp on the finish. Drink now through 2007. (250 cases produced).

FineWine International

Earthy, forest mulch, and spice on the nose. Red fruit and a supple tannins in the mouth. Lovely length. A classic mature California Pinot that is aging wonderfully.

1997 Williams Selyem Allen Vineyard California (750ml)

$109.00

Wine Spectator 89

"Light in color, though blessed with ripe, pleasant black cherry, blackberry, strawberry, cedar and herb notes that gain complexity and nuance.Drink now through 2007."

Allen Meadows, Burghound 91

This is a notable elegant wine that offers first class balance and fine harmony elements. Highly recommended.

1997 Williams Selyem Sonoma Coast California (750ml)

$109.00

Wine Spectator 91

Starts out gamy and a touch peppery, but doesn't stray too far from its core of dense, ripe plum, black cherry and raspberry-laced fruit. Finishes with firm tannins.Best from 2001 through 2006. (350 cases produced)

1997 Williams Selyem, Ferrington California (750ml)

$52.00

1998 Rochioli Three Corner Vyd Pinot Noir California (750ml)

$170.00

Robert Parker 90-91

"The 1998 Pinot Noir Three Corner Vineyard (150 cases) offers a sweet, jammy nose of black cherries, medium to full body, outstanding ripeness, an excellent texture, and fine purity."

1998 Skewis Floodgate California (750ml)

$82.00

FineWine International

This limited production Pinot from the acclaimed Floodgate Vineyard in Mendocino is one of our favorites. It will remind you of a very good premier cru Volnay from Lafon or Lafarge. The 1998 vintage, in particular, is darker, more brooding and intense in aromas and flavors than in years past. There are the expected strawberry and cherry aromas along with some subtle oak and spice nuances. The wine is already showing superb balance and a long, lingering finish. Winemaker, Hank Skewis keeps raising the bar with each new release.

Robert Parker 92

What a discovery! What a performance! Who is Hank Skewis, the winemaker/proprietor of this small estate? Amazingly, the 1998 Pinot Noir Floodgate Vineyard is even better. It tastes like a top-flight grand cru Richebourg...and that's no joke! If offers up a gorgeous bouquet of pure blackberry and black raspberry fruit intermixed with floral scents. This dark ruby/purple-colored Pinot possesses full-bodied, concentrated flavors, no hard edges, a seamless texture, and an extremely long finish. Both of these offerings are Burgundian-styled, remarkably complex Pinots of compelling interest. Bravo!

1998 Skewis Montgomery Vineyard California (750ml)

$82.00

Robert Parker 90

The 1998 Pinot Noir Montgomery Vineyard could easily have emerged from Morey-St.-Denis or Gevrey-Chambertin given its meaty, powerful, plum-scented, spicy, complex aromatics. A dark ruby color is accompanied by a sweet bouquet, and ripe, concentrated, pure flavors. Medium to full-bodied, with no hard edges, this is a complex, seductive Pinot Noir to enjoy over the next 4-5 years. This offering is a Burgundian-styled, remarkably complex Pinot Noir of compelling interest. Bravo!

1998 Williams Selyem, Ferrington California (750ml)

$67.00

1998 Williams Seylem Mendocino California (750ml)

$72.00

Wine Spectator 87

A touch earthy, with cola and cedar notes and a modest core of ripe Pinot Noir flavors. Short-term cellaring may help.

1999 Kistler, Kistler Vineyard California (750ml)

$129.00

Robert Parker 93-95

"Also profound, the 1999 Pinot Noir Kistler Vineyard exhibits floral, black raspberry, berry, and earth notes. The wine is strikingly rich, with a velvety texture and underpinned by good acidity, full body as well as superb density, purity, and equilibrium."

1999 Rochioli Three Corner Vyd Pinot Noir California (750ml)

$170.00

FineWine International

This bottling is from a small triange shaped vineyard on the southern end of Rochioli's property. Yield is a small 1.4 tons per acre and only four barrels were bottled. The wine has aromas of ripe berries, spice and roasted coffee with added complexity from aging in French oak barrels.

Wine & Spirits 90

The scents and flavors of this young wine skim along the surface, a tight surface of dark berry, delicate tea, and of fatter, oak-inspired scents of cola, of smoked meats..Age should bring increasing depth to the flavors, and perhaps greater length as well, promising a complex red in three to five year's time.

1999 Skewis Floodgate California (750ml)

$82.00

FineWine International

Less then 200 cases were produced in the 1999 vintage. We have tasted this wine a number of times over the past year and have been impressed with its evolution. Like the best Floodgate vintages of the past this wine reminds us of a very good vintage Lafon Volnay. There are lovely fruit aromatics intertwined with subtle spice and smokey leather notes. On the palate the flavors are of red fruits, cherries and raspberries principally, mixed with spice and a subtle hints of anise and cardamon. This is a bigger wine than the 1998 Floodgate and should age beautifully over the next 4-6 years, perhaps longer. As always, very impressive and one of our favorite California Pinots.

New York Times 4 *

Like a kiss and a kick in one bottle. The light color belies the wine's complexity and power (14.8 percent alcohol), so give it time to open up. Delicate strawberry and herbal notes are backed up by black pepper, spicy oak and a long, intense finish. LESLIE SBROCCO

1999 Skewis Floodgate California (750ml)

$82.00

FineWine International

Less then 200 cases were produced in the 1999 vintage. We have tasted this wine a number of times over the past year and have been impressed with its evolution. Like the best Floodgate vintages of the past this wine reminds us of a very good vintage Lafon Volnay. There are lovely fruit aromatics intertwined with subtle spice and smokey leather notes. On the palate the flavors are of red fruits, cherries and raspberries principally, mixed with spice and a subtle hints of anise and cardamon. This is a bigger wine than the 1998 Floodgate and should age beautifully over the next 4-6 years, perhaps longer. As always, very impressive and one of our favorite California Pinots.

New York Times 4 *

Like a kiss and a kick in one bottle. The light color belies the wine's complexity and power (14.8 percent alcohol), so give it time to open up. Delicate strawberry and herbal notes are backed up by black pepper, spicy oak and a long, intense finish. LESLIE SBROCCO

1999 Skewis, Salzgeber Vineyard California (750ml)

$82.00

Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

Spicy aromas of wild plum, pepper and herbs. Nicely sweet flavors of plum, redcurrant and oak spice; not really complex but boasts good intensity for very young pinot noir vines. Finishes slightly aggressive, with fine tannins and moderate persistence. Hank Skewis, winemaker for Mill Creek Vineyards, began bottling small quantities of wine under his own label in 1994 and will offer just 475 cases from the '99 vintage.

1999 Williams Selyem Coastlands California (750ml)

$109.00

Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 91+

Bright dark ruby, the deepest of these '99s. Very complex nose combines currant, rose petal, citrus blossom, meat, leather and underbrush. Big and brooding, with strong acidity and slightly aggressive tannins keeping the flavors under wraps. Finishes uncompromisingly dry, but this powerful wine also has superb richness.

1999 Williams Selyem Weir Vineyard California (750ml)

$78.00

Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 89+

Medium-deep red. Restrained but lively aromas of raspberry, maraschino cherry, mocha and earth, with a sappy spicy quality adding appeal. Quite suave and silky on entry, then dry and tight in the middle palate, even a bit severe today. A rather angular wine whose strong acidity calls for bottle aging. Finishes with fine tannins and notes of minerals and earth. Almost rustic for a Williams-Selyem pinot, but I find these aromas and flavors to be quite intriguing.

1999 Williams Selyem, Ferrington California (750ml)

$88.00

Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 90

Dark red. Complex smoky, roasted aromas of black raspberry, cherry, cola, mocha, leather and minerals. Round and fat on the palate; not yet showing its sweetness but already quite seamless. Finishes with fine tannins and excellent persistence.

Wine Spectator 90

1999 Williams Seylem Mendocino California (750ml)

$62.00

Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

Full red. Aromas of wild plum, cherry and cardamom, along with herbal and floral notes. A step up in thickness and texture from the Sonoma County bottling. A note of earth adds flavor interest. Finishes quite firm.

Wine Spectator

Bright, earthy cherry-raspberry fruit is shaded by tea, spice and rhubarb notes that turn complex, revealing depth and richness. Drink now through 2006. 427 cases made.

2000 Kistler, Cuvee Catherine California (750ml)

$235.00

Robert Parker 96

The profound 2000 Pinot Noir Kistler Vineyard Cuvee Catherine is similar to the Kistler Vineyard offering, with additional ripeness, density, and richness. The Cuvee Catherine is a wine of extraordinary ripeness and richness with intense violet aromas mixed with scents of blackberry and cherry liqueur. This exceptional Pinot Noir should drink well for 10-12 years.

2000 Martinelli Blue Slide Ridge California (750ml)

$134.00

Robert Parker 93

The outstanding, opaque purple-colored 2000 Pinot Noir Blue Slide Ridge is a powerful offering (15% alcohol). It is a full-bodied, Burgundian-styled effort displaying notes of blackberries, blueberries, violets, minerals, and smoke. This stunning 2000 is dense, thick, and juicy, with vibrant acidity (remarkable given its weight and richness). It will drink well for a decade.

2000 Martinelli Three Colts California (750ml)

$67.00

Robert Parker 89

The dark ruby-colored 2000 Pinot Noir Three Colts Vineyard (14.2% alcohol), displays tangy acidity along with hints of cola, cherries, plums, and vanilla is It possesses some tannin, along with loads of pungent red fruits in the aromatics and flavors. Enjoy it over the next 6-7 years.

2000 Martinelli, Bondi Home Ranch, Watertrough Vineyard California (750ml)

$78.00

Robert Parker 92

The 2000 Pinot Noir Bondi Home Ranch Water Trough Vineyard possesses the aromatics of a DRC wine (if you don't believe me, just put your nose in the glass). Its sumptuous bouquet offers aromas of smoked meats, prunes, jammy cherries, Peking duck, and other red and black fruits. The complex aromatics are followed by a wine with great fruit, wonderful concentration, and a sweet, expansive texture that floats across the palate. It possesses the lowest alcohol of any of these Pinots, coming in at 13.6%. Drink it over the next 6-7 years, if you can hold it that long.

2000 Skewis Demuth Vineyard California (750ml)

$72.00

Allen Meadows, Burghound

Traditionally styled with elegant, spicy and extremely pretty violet and clove notes that introduce lighter weight, very pinot flavors that possess nice complexity and a subtle intensity and persistence. This is not particularly concentrated but has good focus and I like the balance.

2000 Skewis Floodgate California (750ml)

$82.00

FineWine International

The 2000 Skewis Floodgate exhibits rich aromatics: stonefruit, black cherry and raspberry mingled with subtle spice and smokey leather. On the palate the fruit flavors echo the aromas. The wine is beautifully balanced and the flavors linger in the finish. Another 6-9 months of bottle age will bring all these elements into sharper focus.

2000 Skewis Montgomery Vineyard California (750ml)

$72.00

FineWine International

The 2000 Skewis Montgomery has a lovely dark ruby color and a voluptuous and exotic nose combining black fruits, sassafras, allsice and hints of anice. In the mouth the black cherry fruits dominate but the smokey spice and subtle oak elements lurk in the background, adding complexity. The wine has perfect balance and a hedonistic lushness that will sweep you away. The finish is long and memorable.

2000 Skewis, Salzgeber Vineyard California (750ml)

$82.00

Allen Meadows, Burghound

Pretty and elegant red pinot fruit aromas that evidence obvious spice notes merge into rich, round, sweet and nicely precise and detailed middle weight flavors blessed with really lovely texture and solid finishing complexity and persistence. This is not a powerful pinot but rather one of understatement, finesse and just enough punch on the finish to make a statement. In a word, lovely.

2000 Williams Selyem Central Coast California (750ml)

$77.00

Wine Spectator 87

"Spicy, with racy cherry and blackberry fruit that's fresh, rich and lively, picking up citrusy notes on the finish."

Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

"Good full red. Black cherry, tar, herbs and a whiff of minerals on the nose. Bright cherry and berry flavors are kept fresh and firm by sound acidity. Not especially complex but nicely balanced and enticing."

Wine Enthusiast 91

Quite spicy, with cinnamon and peppery cherry, raspberry, black currant, anise, tea and plum notes. Smooth, silky tannins frame it all, with a mellow finish. Quite nice. Editors' Choice.

2000 Williams Selyem Sonoma Coast California (750ml)

$82.00

Wine Spectator 88

"Well-balanced, with supple, well-focused plum and black cherry fruit shaded by light toasty oak. Flavors get more intruiging on the finish, offering depth and complexity."

Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

"(includes the Coastlands and Hirsch fruit in 2000) Good saturated medium ruby. Tarry black cherry, dark berries and a peppery nuance on the nose. Thick and powerful yet rather graceful in spite of its sheer size. Solid core of licorice and spices. "

2001 Kistler, Cuvee Catherine California (750ml)

$155.00

2001 Kistler, Kistler Vineyard California (750ml)

$109.00

Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 92

Medium red-ruby. Pretty, nuanced nose combines raspberry, red cherry, flowers, earth and mint. At once dense and juicy, with lively raspberry and floral flavors complemented but not dominated by spicy oak. This should develop more complexity with bottle aging, but it's already captivating today thanks to its sappy freshness. Finishes very long and firmly tannic, with lingering raspberry and black cherry flavors. There are 1,500 cases of this wine, making it by far Kistler's largest cuvee of pinot noir.

2001 Williams Selyem Precious Mountain California (750ml)

$109.00

Robert Parker 89

One of the most expensive cuvees in the Williams-Selyem portfolio comes from their Sonoma Coast vineyard called Precious Mountain, which is planted with mixed clones at about 1,700 feet elevation. About 250 cases are produced. The 2001 Pinot Noir Precious Mountain reveals extraordinarily complex notes of minerals, earth, leather, red and black fruits, and dried herbs, a sweet entry on the palate, good underlying acidity, medium to full body, and impressive purity as well as intensity. It needs 1-3 years of cellaring, and should age for a decade.

2002 Bonaccorsi, Santa Rita Hills California (750ml)

$46.00

Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 89

Saturated ruby-red. Bright aromas of black fruits, espresso and earth. Sharply focused and less liqueur-like than the Santa Maria bottling, with less obvious sweetness and darker flavors of briary black raspberry and spices. Juicy and firm on the lingering finish.

Wine Spectator 94

A triumphant wine, dense and concentrated, with rich blackberry, pomegranate and boysenberry flavors supported by firm, ripe, deep tannins, making this wine not only fascinating to smell and drink, but offering the kind of richness and structure for cellaring.

2002 Kistler, Cuvee Elizabeth Occidental Vineyard California (750ml)

$245.00

Robert Parker 95

Kistler's daughter gets her name on the 250-case lot of 2002 Pinot Noir Occidental Vineyard Cuvee Elizabeth. This wine is spectacular, and while I don�t like to choose between daughters, it gets a slight nod over the Cuvee Catherine because it just seems to have a few more layers of flavor crammed into its medium to full-bodied personality. Wonderfully floral, raspberry, and kirsch notes emerge from this wine, which also shows a touch of toast, some crushed stony, rocky notes, and beautiful texture and vibrant acidity. I wouldn�t be surprised to see this wine age effortlessly for 10-15 years. It is certainly a terrific Pinot Noir which, as I said last year, comes across as California�s Musigny.

2002 Williams Selyem Vista Verde California (750ml)

$78.00

Robert Parker

The monolithic, foursquare 2002 Pinot Noir Vista Verde exhibits a deep ruby color along with hints of black and red fruits. This tight, structured Pinot Noir is not my style, but it should last for 5-6 years.

Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine 91

If slightly restrained with respect to fruit in the nose and showing touches of mushroom and a bit of forest-floor spice atop its subdued sense of cherries, this one comes up big on fruit on the palate with a healthy sense of ripeness and plenty of oak to its deep and continuous flavors. There is again a light touch of the soil lurking back of its fruit, and the wine is as complex in taste as it is genuinely rich. Its last-minute trim of finishing toughness will easily smooth out with age, and it keeps comfortable pace with the more serious entrants in this month's race for recommendation. Two Puffs

2003 Clos du Val Reserve (750ml)

$50.00

Decanter Magazine

Best New World Red: Although based in the Stags Leap District, Clos Du Val's Pinot Noir comes from the cooler Carneros. Full velvety colour, fine ripe Pinot fruit with more weight than expected, great purity and depth, this is a very good wine from an estate better known for its Cabernets.-- Steven Spurrier

2003 Kistler, Cuvee Catherine California (750ml)

$150.00

Robert Parker 94-96

The 2003 Pinot Noir Cuvee Catherine has a ruby/purple color, a big, ripe, framboise and currant fruit nose with some floral notes, forest floor, and a touch of new oak. The wine has great purity, medium to full body, and a long finish with good acidity.

2003 Kistler, Cuvee Elizabeth Occidental Vineyard (750ml)

$320.00

Robert Parker 92-95

In this case, I preferred the Cuvee Catherine to the 2003 Pinot Noir Cuvee Elizabeth, which reveals raspberry, pomegranate, cherry, and plum notes, crisp, tart acidity, some flowery characteristics, a lovely, medium-bodied mid-palate, and a good finish with vibrant acidity.

2003 Skewis Floodgate California (750ml)

$48.00

FineWine International

"Brilliant garnet color. Clearn aromatics of plum, cherry, blackberry and ripe strawberries meld with herbal qualities of licorice root, sweet tea, ginger and toasted almond. A hint of mushroom, earth, smoked meat and dried fig add to the complex bouquet. Rich aromatics carry through into the flavors with added cassis, leather, cardamon and a touch od dried herb. With well integrated woo, round tannins, and a long smooth finish, Floodgate is a beautiful expression of Anderson Valley Pinot Noir." winemaker notes. We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

Allen Meadows, Burghound 87

A high-toned and perfumed nose of red berry fruit aromas combines with light to barely medium weight flavors that are delicious and very pinot in style, culminating in a dusty and lightly structured finish. This will be at its best on the early side yet hold well.

Wine News 92

Fresh, fragrant, appealing aromas of crushed and juicy wild strawberries accented by subtle black licorice, candied ginger and toasted almonds. Silky smooth and elegant with medium tannins and copious strawberry-cassis fruit, a touch of dried herbs and a subtle leather note that carries into the finish, this is a persistent and nuanced Pinot that is a joy to contemplate as well as to drink. Succeeding vintages from this source will be called "Reserve". Steve Pitcher 92 pts.

2003 Skewis, Salzgeber-Chan California (750ml)

$50.00

Wine- Maker Notes

Planted in 1997, this vineyard covers only three acres on a north-facing hillside in the heart of the Russian River appellation. The clone selected for this vineyard is the famed Dijon Number 115, known for its low vigor and small berry size, critical factors in producing quality Pinot Noir. Beautiful, round nose filled with a mixture of dark and red fruits, cola, and spicy rose petals. In the mouth, lush, fruit flavors, suggestive of black cherry, plum, and exotic spices. A classic Russian River Pinot Noir of hedonistic pleasure. Complex flavors carry through in the long seamless finish. Only 200 cases produced.

Allen Meadows, Burghound 87

A very interesting if not entirely typical high-toned nose that is intensely floral with softly perfumed notes of clover and menthol leads to nicely detailed, round, supple and forward medium weight flavors that are very pinot in style and character, all wrapped in an edgy and slightly warm finish. I like the transparency here though the nose is frankly a bit odd if not unpleasant.