Keller Estate

Keller Estate is located in the extreme southeast corner of Sonoma Coast, which winemaker Michael McNeill only half-jokingly calls “Carneros West.” That means cool wind whips through the property every afternoon during summer. This Pinot Noir also features the debut of a new ridge-top block that’s 400 feet higher than the other Pinot blocks on the estate and has only a thin layer of soil over what is essentially broken rock. It will be interesting to see what this block adds to the blend as the vines mature. Compared to the 2003, this release showed a darker flavor profile and more complexity, particularly as the wine crossed the mid-palate and began to volatilize into the aftertaste.

Aromatically the wine did not reveal much in my blind tasting, though it was clear there was serious concentration in the wine. In the mouth there was a surprisingly broad range of fruit flavors, from the lighter strawberry and rhubarb traditionally associated with French Pinot Noir to the ripe blackberries more typical of new-clone Pinot in California. The wine enters nicely light on its feet, with medium body, and the tannins put a good grip on the palate without drying out. The wine quickly expands into multiple layers of flavor, from sweet to very dry, and the aftertaste was cool and long. Overall, this felt like a cool-climate Pinot Noir that doesn't push for more ripeness and tannin than the flavors can carry, which makes the wine fresh, lively, and easy on the palate even as it delivers abundant pleasure.

Reviewed August 3, 2007 by Thom Elkjer.