2014 DuMOL “ESTATE” PINOT NOIR

2014 DuMOL "ESTATE" PINOT NOIR

From the Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine, "Fully ripened and abundantly fruity with a swath of sweet oak adding to its considerable and ongoing richness, DuMOL's Estate Vineyard bottling turns up the volume and is by a small measure the fullest and deepest of the winery's seven new Pinots. While a mouthfilling wine that will need pairing with appropriately rich foods, it is not at all heavy footed or sluggish, and, if needing a few years to develop a bit of come-hither grace, it displays good overall balance and with a turn of back-palate tannins affording the structural grip to suggest that its very best lies at least five or six years in the future." 94 Points

From Vinous, “A wine of density and wound up energy, the 2014 Pinot Noir Estate Vineyard is very tightly coiled at this stage. All the elements are there for the Estate to develop into a splendid Pinot with proper aging, especially if the wine finds a more refined register over time. Even so, the 2014 is attractive, if a bit monolithic next to the other wines in this range. This is a strong set of new releases from DuMOL. Winemaker Andy Smith has really dialed in his approach here over the last few years, and it shows. Harvest dates have been moved up, while in general Smith is seeking a bit more freshness in his wines than was the case a few years ago. That is especially true of the Chardonnays, which now also spend eleven months in barrel followed by six months in tank, a fairly classic aging regime today in Burgundy that is less common in California.” 92-95 Points