As I mentioned Yesterday, I tasted 69 American Pinot Noirs earlier this month. The design was to taste through the wines blind, which means that I did not know which wine was ever in my glass (well, my four glasses, as I tasted that many at a time).

Tasting wines blind is always a good exercise as knowing what a wine is can always introduce bias when it comes to evaluation. Blind tasting also can produce a few surprises, as was certainly the case this time around. There is also a downside to blind tasting as the bigger, fruitier wines tend to stand out more.

Here is the second set of 20 wines, in the order we tasted them:

2019 Pellegrini Family Vineyards Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $40. Medium color but still translucent with dark fruit aromas and plenty of earth. Maybe even a touch “dirty”? Nice palate as well with that dark fruit abundant (but not bomby) and well-balanced. Not a bright, cheery Pinot, but this is darned good. Excellent. 91 Points.

2021 Siduri Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County, CA: Retail $30. Under screw cap. Dark, near opaque, with the darker slate of fruit aromas: black cherry, dark raspberry, hints of spice, and earth. Much the same on the palate, with great balance and a lengthy finish. Nice. Outstanding. 93 Points.

2021 Brooks Pinot Noir Crannell, Eola – Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $50. Medium to dark with more of a meaty, earthy, spicy nose. The palate is more subtle than I expected from the nose, but there is nice acidity and the fruit comes around a bit more by the lengthy finish. Excellent. 92 Points.

2022 Sangiacomo Pinot Noir Five Clone, Petaluma Gap, CA: Retail $75. Medium to dark with dark fruit and plenty of personality on both the nose and the palate. Nice balance with the fruit really coming through, this is stellar. Outstanding. 94 Points.

2021 Davis Bynum Pinot Noir Dutton Ranches, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $50. Under screw cap. Medium color and a bit cloudy but lovely fruit with an earthy component. A little hot on the palate but good fruit, weight, and tartness. Excellent. 91 Points.

2021 Tongue Dancer Rambling Fox, Sonoma Coast, CA: Retail $40? Dark with a bit of a muted nose. Rich fruit, nice acid, really a nice wine. All the components, but might be lacking a bit of the “wow” factor. Excellent. 90 Points.

2022 Stoller Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $30. Screw cap. Medium color with an extremely stemy nose. Holy cow is it stemy. Decent fruit, but that stemminess is really coming through. Not terrible, but there is just not enough fruit to combat the stems. Very Good. 89 Points.

One year, I thought the table might give out….

2021 Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir Orchard Block, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $75. Medium color with a bit of a funky nose. The palate is not a continuation here, but it is frankly quite closed up. It is certainly in the “fine” category but I am afraid I am not getting much more at this point. Very Good. 88 Points.

2021 Siduri Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $30. Under screw cap. Medium to dark color with dark fruit, spice, a touch of black pepper. Well-balanced on the palate with a fine weight and lovely fruit. Nice. Excellent. 92 Points.

2021 Kendall-Jackson Pinot Noir Estates Collection Outland Ridge, Anderson Valley, CA: Retail $ 60. Dark, even really dark in color and aromas with a touch of heat, too. Chewy, even really chewy as the tannins here are big, as is the fruit but with some time this might end up well. Very Good. 89 Points now but I feel like this needs time. 

2021 Brooks Pinot Noir Old Vine Pommard, Eola – Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $60. Medium with a really muted nose but some cranberry comes through finally. Well-balanced and lovely on the palate, with some complexity; this really works well. Excellent. 92 Points.

2021 Brooks Pinot Noir Janus, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $50. Medium to dark, with nice fruit and just a hint of dark earth. Good fruit, might be a touch lacking in acidity, but this is a nice wine with a long finish. Excellent. 91 Points. 

2021 Sangiacomo Family Wines Pinot Noir EDEN DALE, Sonoma Coast, CA: Retail $50. Medium to dark color dark fruit, earthy, and just a touch of funk. The palate is lovely: fruity, balanced, tart. Everything one would want in a Pinot. Outstanding. 94 Points.

2022 Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir Kalita Vineyard, Yamhill-Carlton, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $45. Medium to dark with a strawberry and cherry fruity nose. The palate is fresh and fruity, perhaps a tad bit lacking in acidity for me, but a perfectly delightful wine. Excellent. 91 Points. 

2021 Stephen Ross Pinot Noir Greengate Vineyard, Edna Valley, CA: Retail $70(?). Medium color with a tart nose of cranberry and earth. Fruity, tart, wonderful on the palate with nice balance and good depth. Nice. Excellent. 92 Points.

2021 Torii Mor Pinot Noir Reserve Deux Verres, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $45. Medium color with a mostly earthy nose with some spice, cedar, and subtle fruit. Lovely on the palate as well with understated fruit, but balanced and really delightful. Outstanding. 93 Points. 

2021 Tongue Dancer Pinot Noir Putnam Vineyard, Sonoma Coast, CA: Retail $75. Dark color with a great nose of fruit (blackberry, black cherry) but also earth and plenty of chutzpah. Whoa. Big on the palate, but impeccably balanced, dark, for sure, but there is plenty of verve and even some tannin on the back end. Yowza. Outstanding. 96 Points.

2021 Pedroncelli Pinot Noir Signature Selection, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $30. Dark color with black cherry and a bit of meatiness here. Big, but it works as the tartness is running to catch up with that dark fruit. Tannins come in on the back-end. Excellent. 92 Points. 

2021 Penner-Ash Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $45. Medium to dark color with subtle fruit, a touch of meatiness, and a touch of earthiness on the nose. Whoa. Another lovely wine: balanced, subtle fruit, zingy, and finishes strong. Outstanding. 93 Points.

2022 Stoller Pinot Noir Estate, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $30. Dark with black cherry and a hint of stemminess. Good dark fruit, the tartness keeps it in check, and the stems seem to work. Medium tannins on the finish. Excellent. 91 Points.