As I mentioned Tuesday and Wednesday, earlier this week, I and a group of other Houston-based wine writers, tasted 51 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.

All 51, ready to be popped and then poured.

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

2022 Davis Bynum Pinot Noir Dutton Ranch, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $40. Wonderful nose, absolutely stellar, with lovely strawberry and cherry at the forefront. The paalte is scrumptious; yes, there is a lot of fruit, even tons, but the acidity rules the roost here, such a great tang. This is certainly a New World Pinot and makes no apologies about it and that is fine by me. Outstanding. 95 Points.

2022 Tongue Dancer Pinot Noir The Sly One, Green Valley of Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $85. Darker in color and in aromas, certainly on the black cherry and raspberry, but still berries. Big, for sure, and maybe a bit hot, this a nervous wine right now, for sure, but this has all the markings of a fantastic wine: big fruit, tons of acidity, and plenty of confidence. It needs some time to settle down a bit, but this is fantastic. Outstanding. 94 Points.

2022 Sangiacomo Wines ViMaria, Sonoma Coast, CA: Retail $90. The nose is a bit different with a touch of mocha and maybe even some anise behind a wall of black cherry fruit. The palate is even more inviting than the nose with good berry fruit, a nice tartness, and a lengthy finish. Very Nice. Excellent. 92 Points.

2021 Maggy Hawk Pinot Noir Jolie, Anderson Valley, CA: Retail $75. Dark on the nose with more mocha and a bit of heat. The palate is a bit subdued and I struggled to find the fruit. Sure, everything is there (the fruit showed up on the mid palate), but overall, this is lacking a bit of “wow”, for sure. Very Good. 89 Points.

2021 Sangiacomo Family Wines Pinot Noir Eden Dale, Sonoma Coast, CA: Retail $50. Under screw cap. Fairly dark in color and in aromas with some cherry cola and comes off as a bit extracted. I was not sure about this wine based on the nose, but the palate is pretty fantastic with good fruit, good acid, nice. Excellent. 91 Points.

2021 Davis Bynum Pinot Noir Lindley’s Knoll, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $65. Responsible Bottle (543g; 19.1oz). Quite fruity on the nose, even a little Jolly Rancher cherry going on. That continues on the palate, so it is quite fruity, but there is also some oak evident, lending a bit of complexity to all that fruit. It works, though, stopping short of “over-the-top”. Excellent. 90 Points.

2022 Tongue Dancer Pinot Noir Pinot de Ville, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $69. Heavy Bottle (630g; 22.2oz). Lovely nose, classic California Pinot, top to bottom. Fresh cherry, and strawberry on the nose and palate, with a lovely mouthfeel and balance. Whoa. Outstanding. 96 Points.

2022 Sangiacomo Family Wines Pinot Noir Block 11, Sonoma Coast, CA: Retail $75. Slightly dirty (some whole cluster fermentation?) on the nose with some dark fruit. The palate, however, does not exhibit that “dirtiness” but rather an earthiness that integrates well with some fantastic dark berry fruit. This is a rare Pinot, in my opinion, as it celebrates California fruit while also embracing Old World complexity. Outstanding. 95 Points.

2022 Penner-Ash Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $60. Red and black cherry on the nose, with a touch of earth. The palate is juicy, even really juicy with a hint of anise on the backend, but it works and this is tasty. Outstanding. 93 Points.

2022 Murphy-Goode Pinot Noir, California: Retail $18. Under screw cap. Vanilla and cherry on the nose with a hint of strawberry. Nice nose. The palate is fine, but lacking a bit of oomph. Sure, there is fruit and tartness, just no wow factor here. Very Good. 88 Points.

2023 Rodney Strong Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $30. Under screw cap. Medium to dark in color with a cherry cola, almost Jolly Rancher thing going on. Fruity and a bit extracted on the palate, this is likely a crowd pleaser but I find it a bit one-dimensional. Very Good. 89 Points.

2022 Kendall-Jackson Pinot Noir Vintner’s Reserve, California: Retail $20. A bit muted on the nose, really not much there even though this has been open for a while. The palate is similar. It’s fine, even very good, but after the fruit, there is some tartness but not a lot of depth. Very Good. 88 Points.

2022 Domaine Carneros Pinot Noir Le Ciel Serein, Carneros, CA: Retail $62. Dark fruit and a bit funky (I love the funk) on the nose which some anise and a bit of clove eventually peeking through at the backend. A surprisingly amount of fruit on the palate, and while the acidity is a bit lacking initially, it certainly catches up by the finish. Excellent. 91 Points.

2022 Sangiacomo Wines Pinot Noir Roberts Road Vineyard, Petaluma Gap, CA: Retail $75. Strawberry rhubarb on the nose with a hint of vanilla. Nice. Lovely, even a whoa on the palate with luscious red fruit and fantastic balance. Beautiful. Outstanding. 94 Points.

2022 Merriam Vineyards Pinot Noir Diana’s Vineyard, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $56. A bit dark with a sour cherry predominate on the nose. There is also a bit of celery, oddly. The palate is light on fruit, has a nice level of acidity, and a bit of a tannic grip on the finish. Excellent. 91 Points.

2021 Freeman Pinot Noir Gloria Estate, Green Valley of Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $60. Really dark in color with a bit of a cherry cola on the nose. Another wine with an abundance of fruit, mostly slightly under ripe cherry, with a nice tartness coming in on the mid-palate. A subtle wine that provokes contemplation. Excellent. 91 Points.