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This wine opens a new front on the California Pinot Noir evolution. The Brosseau was vinified solely from the first vintage of a new Pinot Noir clone, the Colmar 538. With the focus of this singular clone, one can clearly taste the high chaparral of Chalone. The dense aromatics of incense, brown sugar, toast, tar and dusty herbs are unique to this vineyard. Perfectly ripe, balanced fruit with deep, rich flavors support supple tannins and the chalky mineral undertones which the wines of the Brosseau Vineyard are noted for. Masculine and exceeding complex in structure, this powerful wine has ripe black cherry at the core with herbal layers of green tea, bramble, and fennel. Also present are flavors of cinnamon, thyme and caramel. While exciting to drink now, this wine is so packed with complex elements, it promises to be even more exceptional in a few years time.

This wine initially exhibits cranberry and cherry on the nose with subtle notes of tea leaves and bacon. On the palate, one is struck by the racy red fruit flavors and earth. Chalk, tar and some forest floor help fill out the bottom. There is a bright natural acidity, firm tannins and a nervosity in this wine which helps to frame and focus the wine. Drinking well now, but cellaring for 2 to 3 years is recommended.

This wine rises up from the wild earth. The nose opens up a world of dark smokey gamey Carneros funk with a strong black tea component. The wine is medium bodied with a generous mouthfeel. Serve with roasted meats or grilled sausages. While a very spunky wine now, a few years in a dark place will put this wine in its place.

Galante Vineyard wines offers all that one wishes from an elegant, feminine Russian River Pinot Noir. Aromatically, one is struck by lush sweet cherry, rose and a brush of hoisin. A plush and graceful mouthfeel delivers raspberry, orange peel and nutmeg along with an earnest amount of gamey earthiness. A firm, structural core propels this wine to a long, persistent finish, flush with spice and minerals.

Be warned, this is a big Pinot Noir wine and is not for lovers of the demure wing of the Pinot family. Aromatically, the wine exhibits a weighty dark fruit nose with undertones of wild berry, game, and toasty wood. The wine opens up with a full-blown attack of dark cherries and herbs. Mouthfeel is juicy and full, with a firm spine of complex acidity and beefy tannins. Like all Harrington wines, this wine is unfined and unfiltered. Ready to drink now, it will integrate further with cellaring. Serve with roasted meats or grilled sausages.