A couple of months ago, I set the date for my Eighth Annual Blind Tasting of American Pinot Noir for November 8th. That would give me enough time to clean up my notes and publish them in time for Thanksgiving, essentially the Super Bowl for Pinot Noir (next to champagne, Pinot is perhaps the most versatile of wines for Thanksgiving, able to handle all of those crazy flavors on the Turkey Day table).

November 8th had to be the day since I was once again to be a judge for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which was scheduled to occur over the second weekend in November. And since Thanksgiving would soon follow, it had to be that second Saturday in November.

But.

As many of you may recall, our stupid Federal Government decided to shut down, which caused more than a bit of disruption to air traffic. That, in turn, helped delay several of the samples that were sent to me for the tasting, some arriving as late as this past Monday.

All of that coupled with the fact that basketball season has begun, meant that the only day I could conduct the tasting was on Thursday afternoon.

Yikes.

This year, there were 40 wines to go through, which took just over three hours. Pour. Swirl. Sniff. Sip. Slurp. Spit. Scribble. Repeat.

Here are the first 12 wines, in the order we tasted them:

2023 Davis Bynum Pinot Noir Clone 667 Bacigalupi Frost Ranch, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $70. Fairly light in color with great black cherry and a touch of earth on the nose. Whoa. Fruity and full with great acid and intense cherry flavor. Well-balanced and focused. Yowza. Outstanding. 94 Points.

2023 Rodney Strong Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $30. Under screw cap. Light to medium color and darker and sweeter on the nose with more of a candied raspberry. The palate is pleasant enough, even more so with that darker fruit really stealing the show. The acid is good, but it comes off as slightly hot on the finish. Excellent. 91 Points.

2023 Tongue Dancer Pinot Noir Vineyard Eleven, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $80. Heavy Bottle (627g; 22.0 oz). Under DIAM. Lovely Bing and black cherry on the nose of this medium ruby hued wine. Fruity, even really fruity on the palate which initially masks the acidity, which finally pushes through on the back end of the mid palate. This seems a tad closed and shy, but clearly has the stuffing. Needs time? Excellent. 90 Points.

2023 Chehalem Pinot Noir Chehalem Estate Vineyard, Laurelwood District, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $50. A bit muted on the nose and fairly dark in color, with black cherry and vanilla sneaking through. A bit Kool-Aidy on the palate, but this is friendly and approachable. Very Good. 89 Points.

2023 Banshee Pinot Noir, Sonoma Count, CA: Retail $25. Dark in color and aromas: black cherry and black raspberry. Fruity and full with plenty of juiciness to spare. The acidity struggles to find a path, but eventually takes over on the mid-palate, if only briefly. Nice finish, with a hint of flint on the very backend. Nice. Excellent. 92 Points.

2023 Tongue Dancer Pinot Noir Pinot de Ville, Sonoma Coast, CA: Retail $69. Under DIAM. Whoa. Subtle but wonderful nose of wild cherry and black cherry. The palate is rich and engaging with fantastic fruit and near impeccable balance. Several layers, each worthy of contemplation. Whoa. Outstanding. 97 Points.

2023 Davis Bynum Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $45. Medium to dark in the glass, with a bit of a meaty, dirty nose. Not off-putting, but certainly not “overly fruity”. The palate is similar, but again, I like it. Meaty, perhaps a bit stemmy, but not “funky”. Austere and serious. Excellent. 91 Points.

2023 Tongue Dancer Pinot Noir Putnam Vineyard, West Sonoma Coast, CA: Retail $75. Perhaps the darkest in the lineup thus far with black cherry and raspberry, on the verge of cassis even, on the nose, rich and complex. Dark and close to brooding here on the palate with concentrated dark fruit. This is rich, intense, dark, and certainly a style of Pinot that has an audience, including me. Outstanding. 93 Points.

2023 Chalk Hill Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, CA: Retail $28. Initially a bit stinky on the nose, which blows off to reveal very nice black cherry. Medium to dark color. A bit sweet initially, but intense flavors and plenty of fruit. There is a nice acidity as well, but that fruit is big and present. Excellent. 90 Points.

2024 Acrobat Pinot Noir, Oregon: Retail $20. Under screw cap. Somewhat odd aroma in the glass, I can’t quite place it. The palate has decent fruit with a nice kick from the acidity, but this is a bit monotone and I would like to have seen more depth. Very Good. 87 Points.

2023 Chemistry Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $25. Under screw cap. Quite dark in the glass with a bit of an over-extracted nose. Sweet and fruity on the palate with plenty of tartness chiming in. A bit hot on the finish. Very Good. 88 Points.

2023 Domaine Carneros Pinot Noir Estate, Carneros, CA: Retail $47. Another quite dark ruby, with very dark berry fruit. Good fruit on the palate as well (dark) with an acidity that eventually comes in before a bit of a hot finish. Excellent. 91 Points.