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Walter Hansel, “North Slope Vineyard” Pinot Noir

California, United States 2016 (750mL)
$50.00
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Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Walter Hansel, “North Slope Vineyard” Pinot Noir

Wine appellations aren’t just the boundaries and physical attributes of a wine-growing area: They are brands. That was the intention when they were first created, and in Old World Europe especially, “place names” still carry more weight than producer names (in most instances). 
We here in America are a little more grape- and label-first in our wine shopping habits, but there’s no denying the power of the words “Russian River Valley” on a bottle of Pinot Noir. We’re conditioned to expect a higher price point when we see those words, but Walter Hansel is one Russian River producer who has held the line—and won an admiring following of shrewd shoppers in the process. In terms of price-to-quality, I’m not sure what even comes close to this wine in California with this level of pedigree. Given the accolades their Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays regularly receive, they could easily charge more; they just don’t. I’ll put today’s 2016 South Slope Pinot Noir up against far-pricier competition with full confidence that it will not just hold its own, but win the day. Hansel’s been doing it for years. This is a reference-point Pinot Noir by any measure, but due to perfect weather the 2016 vintage yielded one of the best I have tasted yet. This is a wine to buy by the case and drink over the next 5-10 years. Smart collectors should not pass this up!
Over the years, the Hansel vineyard holdings—all Chardonnay and Pinot Noir—have grown to 80 acres. All these vineyards are contiguous to one another, with the winery situated right in the middle, and it’s Stephen Hansel—who helped his father, Walter, plant the very first vines on the property back in the ’70s—leading the estate’s small team in both the vineyards and cellar. Well-known Pinot/Chardonnay producer Tom Rochioli offers invaluable consultation and has been a source of budwood for new vineyard plantings on the estate. Just west of Santa Rosa and less than 20 miles from the Pacific near the Sebastopol Hills, Hansel’s vineyards are rooted in soils of sandy loam and are cooled by morning fog that rolls through the Petaluma Gap just to the south. Great care has been taken in choosing clones for the estate, which results in further complexity that is almost without rival in the appellation.

The vineyard work at Hansel is meticulous and organic; their “South Slope Vineyard,” source of today’s wine, is described as their highest-elevation and most southerly plot, closest to the above-mentioned wind gap. The vineyard is planted to clone 777, one of the most highly regarded of the “Dijon” (i.e. Burgundian) clones, and, according to Hansel, “…tends to show it's earthy side far more than our other clones.” For all its luscious wild-berry fruit, today’s 2016 does indeed offer up lots of mineral and underbrush notes, as well as the kind of silky ‘prettiness’ I often find in Burgundies from Chambolle-Musigny. 

Hansel’s harvests are always carried out by hand and the fruit is hand-sorted and completely de-stemmed before fermentation on native yeasts in open-topped vats. Cooperage varies with each vintage and cuvée, but the wines are aged in a calculated mixture that allows a maximum of 25% new French oak with the remainder maturing in one and two-year-old barrels to suit the individual needs of each wine. Today’s 2016 is noteworthy for its subtle oak component, allowing fruit and earth to take center stage: In the glass, it’s a medium ruby with hints of magenta at the rim, leading with ripe wild berry fruits: blackberries, raspberries, and just about every other berry you might pluck off a prickly bush. High-toned aromas of violets and roses are balanced with savory bass notes of warm spice and forest floor, and while the wine doesn’t lack for concentration, it has a lithe and energetic quality to it that bodes well for aging (5-10 years at least). I don’t intend to wait, however: Decant this about 30 minutes before serving at 60-65 degrees in Burgundy stems with lighter meats or richer fish; baked salmon gets my vote this time, but there are a million ways to go. Enjoy!
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Country
United States
Region
California
Sub-Region
United StatesRussian River Valley
Soil
Goldridge Loam
Farming
Organic
Blend
Pinot Noir
Alcohol
14.5
OAK
~25% New French
TEMP.
60
Glassware
Burgundy Stems
Drinking
Now-2030
Decanting
30 Minutes
Pairing
Baked Salmon

United States

Washington

Columbia Valley

Like many Washington wines, the “Columbia Valley” indication only tells part of the story: Columbia Valley covers a huge swath of Central
Washington, within which are a wide array of smaller AVAs (appellations).

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley has become an elite winegrowing zone in record time. Pioneering vintner David Lett, of The Eyrie Vineyard, planted the first Pinot Noir in the region in 1965, soon to be followed by a cadre of forward-thinking growers who (correctly) saw their wines as America’s answer to French
Burgundies. Today, the Willamette
Valley is indeed compared favorably to Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. And while Pinot Noir accounts for 64% of Oregon’s vineyard plantings, there are cool-climate whites that must not be missed.

California

Santa Barbara

Among the unique features of Santa Barbara County appellations like Ballard Canyon (a sub-zone of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA), is that it has a cool, Pacific-influenced climate juxtaposed with the intense luminosity of a southerly
latitude (the 34th parallel). Ballard Canyon has a more north-south orientation compared to most Santa Barbara AVAs, with soils of sandy
clay/loam and limestone.

California

Paso Robles

Situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet, it is rooted in soils of sandy loam and falls within the Highlands District of the Paso Robles AVA.

New York

North Fork

Wine growers and producers on Long Island’s North Fork have traditionally compared their terroir to that of Bordeaux and have focused on French varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

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