Patricia Green Cellars
Pinot Noir Whistling Ridge 2010

Review:

This is the small, 20-year old vineyard located directly behind both us and Beaux Freres. It is owned by Dick and Patricia Alvord. We started buying a small portion of the Pinot Noir in 2003 and it turned out to be one of the most interesting and popular wines we produced. What provides a constant source of amazement to us and people who taste this wine next to our Estate wines is, despite the proximity of this vineyard to ours, how distinctly different the wines from this site are in relation to anything that comes off of our vineyard. We have been very pleased with the development of these age-worthy wine from this vineyard. This vineyard tends to produce wines that operate at the maximum scale of the three structural components of the wine (fruit intensity, tannin, acidity). The Whistling Ridge can be jumpy, tannic and piercing in its youth. This has that signature raspberry quality which is the hallmark of this wine. This is not for the faint of heart. The 2009 was an easy wine to love, this wine is lovely but perhaps not easy. This has been an intense wine from the get-go this year. Wines like that can be perplexing and fun at the same time. This wine challenges. It has high-toned acidity and structure but there is ample fruit to match it. This does not shrink away so it comes off as being a full-throttle wine. This will need some time to bring everything together but there is so much to like about this wine that those who are patient are going to get something special. - the winery