Review: Cuvaison 2017 Swan Vineyard Pinot Noir Los Carneros Napa Valley ($65) 93 Points

This is a classic Swan Vineyard Pinot Noir from one of California's great heritage Pinot Noir sites, planted mostly to the selection known in California as the Swan clone. The team at Cuvaison has very much succeeded in delivering a wine that meets Swan expectations: It is lucid and transparent, bright, spicy, and fragrant with strawberry, red cherry, cinnamon, and raspberry flavors that are both a nod to the past, when Pinot Noir from California was a lighter-bodied, more elegant wine, and a nod to the cutting-edge present of California wine, as many winemakers are aiming at a more subtle, elegant interpretation of Pinot Noir. If you are a devotee of Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, you might find this wine relatively light and lean, but I think it offers a contrasting vision that's very worthwhile. Even compared to a lot of Pinot Noirs from Carneros, this Swan vineyard offering is more focused and perfumed than most. And if you see a Syrah bottling from Swan, think about snatching that up, too! (93 Points)

- Tim Teichgraeber