As I mentioned Wednesday and Thursday, earlier this month, I and a group of other Houston-based wine writers, tasted 69 American Pinot Noirs on a Saturday afternoon. 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.

When I tell people about these tastings I hold at my house, the response is nearly uniform: “Oh, sounds like really tough work.” Truth be told, while it might fall short of “tough work” it certainly is not “easy.” Tasting so many wines within a fairly narrow band of flavors and attributes (they all come from the same grape, after all), can be difficult to verbalize the subtle differences.

It is also tough on the teeth–by the end, we were all in need of a toothbrush. Badly in need.

Here are the next 16 wines, in the order we tasted them:

2021 Rodney Strong Pinot Noir Reserve, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $60. Medium to dark color with an amazing nose dark cherry, brown earth, a hint of spice. Whoa. Bright fruit and wonderful balance, yowza. Body, fruit, I could go on and on. Whoa. Outstanding. 95 Points.

2021 Alexana Pinot Noir Signature, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $65. Really dark color, perhaps the darkest of the tasting thus far. Really concentrated and syrupy on the nose. The palate is much less over-the-top than I thought it would be. In fact it is rather lovely with good fruit and balance. Excellent. 91 Points.

2021 Exprimere Pinot Noir Persey Peake Ranch Vineyard, Sea. Rita Hills, CA: Retail $95. Light in the glass with subtle cherry and strawberry. Yum the palate is fun, fruity, balanced, really this is what I hope every Pinot to be. Outstanding. 94 Points.

2019 Brooks Pinot Noir Wadenswil, Eola – Amity Hills, Willamette  Valley, OR: Retail $60. Dark and a bit cloudy with a bit of a funky nose (I love the funk). The palate has nice fruit and good tartness and just a hint of that funkiness. Perfectly lovely Pinot. Excellent. 90 Points.

2021 Copain Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, CA: Retail $45. Medium color with cranberry and a bit of meatiness on the nose. Fantastic on the palate with lively fruit (cranberry and cherry), brilliant tartness, a touch of earth. Yeah, whoa. Outstanding. 95 Points.

2021 Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, Willamette  Valley, OR: Retail $45. I believe this bottle was Flawed, but so was the second bottle.

Blind tastings are not all that glamorous at my house–they involve a bunch of brown paper bags.

2021 Hartford Court Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $40. Medium to dark. Fruity, candied nose, almost comes off sweet on the nose. Rich and fruity, intense, even. This comes off as heavy, even. Very Good. 89 Points.

2020 Cameron Hughes Pinot Noir Lot 869, Santa Margarita Ranch, Paso Robles, CA: Retail $20. Dark in color with rich aromas and a hint of earth. Starts off well on the palate with fruit and tartness, but finishes quite hot. Very Good. 88 Points.

2021 WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $45. Medium to dark in color with a dark cherry cola nose. The palate works: good fruit, nice tartness, rich (a bit sweet?). Quite quaffable, but perhaps a bit on the side of “over done”. Very Good. 89 Points.

2021 Exprimere Pinot Noir Mia Peake Ranch Vineyard, Sea. Rita Hills, CA: Retail $95. Medium color with aromas of cherry, earth, and spice. The palate comes off a bit sweet and ripe with a cherry cola vibe going on. A little hot on the finish. Very Good. 89 Points.

2019 Stoller Pinot Noir Helen’s, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $75. Medium color with a salty, meaty nose mixed in with Bing cherry. Nice on the palate which is characterized by loads of fruit. There is some tartness, but it struggles to assert itself with all that fruit. Excellent. 90 Points.

2022 Sanford Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills, CA: Retail $45. Medium to dark in color with a cherry cough drop vibe and a bit of earth on the nose. The palate is nice: fruit, exceptional zinginess and some weight. Excellent. 91 Points.

2021 La Crema Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, CA: Retail $28. Dark in color with a touch of funk (I love the funk) on the nose, but also dark cherry and earth. The palate is fruity and tart, with that funkiness lingering behind the scenes. Nice. Excellent. 91 Points.

2021 Gran Moraine Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $55. Dark in color and funky on the nose, but this funk is deeper and meatier in nature. The palate is fruitier than I imagined with dark cherry and plenty of acidity. That funky aspect reemerges on the finish. Very Good. 89 Points.

2021 Domaine Carneros Pinot Noir Estate, Carneros, CA: Retail $46. Medium color with black cherry and cranberry predominate. The palate is quite fruity and therefore comes off as a tad sweet, but the acidity helps keep it in check. Very Good. 89 Points.

2020 Stephen Ross Pinot Noir Stone Corral Vineyard, Edna Valley, CA: Retail $68. Dark in color and aromas with some earth and fruit. Dark on the palate as well but this works. Dark cherry and a touch of funky earthiness, very nice. Excellent. 91 Points.