In 2007, CJ’s Barrel was made up of a small lot of wine we made as a lark—100% undestemmed grapes, treaded by bare feet. It was pretty compelling wine. In 2008, we decided instead to do a barrel selection. Evelyn and I went through all the barrels destined for Alazan and picked one out that we felt was both different from the rest and especially good. So it doesn’t have quite the whimsical story as the 2007 methode ancienne wine but it might be even more special since we tried to pick the best barrel, or at least one of the best, from the Alazan blend.

The result is a wine that is similar in spirit to the “regular” Alazan but, to my palate, a bit more austere and firm. At least it is at this stage. Like the other 2008 Pinot Noirs from Kingston, it has an interesting combination of ripe juicy fruit and a fairly firm backbone. Also similar to the other 2008 Pinot Noirs, it needs a bit of air to show its best. I often say that the Pinot Noir we grow at Kingston is somewhere between new and old world in style, with fairly generous ripeness but also a firmness on the palate and more earth and mineral notes in the aromas and flavors. This vintage seems to tilt a little in the direction of the new world in that the fruit characters tend towards ripe fruit, and away from savory and earthy.