2014 Rockledge Vineyards Pinot Noir Terres Blanches Carneros 750 ml

Carneros Pinot Noir: Why 2014 May Be the Best Vintage Ever

Since 2000, Carneros’s top Pinot Noir producers have been treated to a five sensational vintages: 2001, 2007, 2009, 2012, and 2013. But as we “made the rounds” last fall, barrel-tasting with a half-dozen veteran winemakers, there was near consensus: 2014 may well be the greatest vintage in history for the AVA.

Peter Snowden’s Rockledge has wowed Robert Parker repeatedly over the last decade with the winery’s brilliant Cabernet Sauvignons drawn off a rocky perch in St. Helena. But with the release of the 2014 Pinot Noir “Terres Blanches,” Rockledge has finally secured a place among the Carneros elite, right alongside Donum Estate and Saintsbury.

How to account for the DARK color, intense concentration, and refreshing acidity of Carneros’ top 2014s? In each of California’s two preceding drought years, 2012 and 2013, bud break came early after a warm spring. Flowering was weeks ahead of schedule. Hardly a drop of rain fell on Carneros over the summer months. Yields were bountiful, as much as twice that of 2011. The only knock on 2012 and 2013? Some growers, particularly those selling by the ton and not the acre, decided not to drop fruit and pushed yields too far. While colors were dark, the overcropping made for some hollow wines, absent the sweet-fruit core we always look for in top-flight Pinot Noir.

While 2014 was also a drought year, the similarities to 2012 and 2013 stop there. Once again a mild winter and warm spring made for early bud break and flowering. But this time, the fruit set was modest. As fewer berries competed for the same nutrients, berry size was small. Skins were thicker. Skin-to-juice ratio was high. Rockledge’s two vineyard sources in Carneros were picked at the end of the first week of September. Sugars were very high, measuring 25.5 Brix. But despite the extreme ripeness, acids were firm, with finished pH coming in at a stunning 3.55.

The 2014 Rockledge Pinot Noir “Terres Blanches” is vivid dark-ruby, infused with a voluptuous, aromatic mix of black raspberry, black cherry, kirsch, and sweet spice. Big, rich, and juicy on entry (14.5% in alcohol, though there is no inkling of over-ripeness or Port-like flavors), filled with crushed blackberry and raspberry preserves and a dash of anise, finishing with great persistence and dusty-tannin tension. Drink now — hard not to — or lay down until the early 2020s.

Compared to $45/bottle. $20 today — for a couple hours or so. JUST 960 bottles are up for grabs. Sorry … in advance.