Hosts: Ed and Lisa Coyne
Location: The Coyne Residence
Tasting Notes can be found here Pre-taste and here Tasting Wines
An absolutely wonderful tasting was held at the home of Ed and Lisa Coyne. Ed provided some Pinot Noir wines from his cellar coming from vintages between 2012-2017. In addition, he and Lisa provided information for those who wanted to purchase current vintages for aging in our own cellars. Above are pictures of the pre-taste offerings and the bottle in presentation order.
The evening could not have been better; there was a sliver of moon and the temperature was perfect for an al fresco experience by the pool. Lisa had a selection of cheeses and bread as palate cleansers, and they were yummy. As usual, Chef Enrico presented an amazing meal. Many thanks to him for his culinary brilliance.
The tasting featured a lineup of California Pinot Noirs spanning a range of vintages, regions, and exceptional winemakers. The selected wines are in their sweet spot for structural evolution. Pinot Noir is unique because it shifts from bright primary fruit (cherry, raspberry) to complex tertiary notes (forest floor, dried leaves, leather, mushroom) while its acids soften.
The four Pre-tasting wines established a baseline for comparison, including more youthful wines like the 2023 Walter Hansel Family Vineyards “The Three Rows” PN from the Russian River Valley, the 2020 Siduri PN from Santa Rita Hills, the 2021 Bouchaine Estate PN, and the 2013 Belle Glos Clark+Telephone from Santa Maria.
The eight Tasting wines took us on a tour of some of California’s heavy-hitters from the Sonoma Coast, Anderson Valley, Russian River Valley, and the Central Coast. It was interesting to see how they evolved and if we can identify the regions, vintages and maybe even the wineries during the blind tasting.
Here are the ratings. The prices represent what you’ll likely spend if you acquire a bottle.
1st Place – 62 pts, 2012 Dehlinger, Altamont Vineyard. 2021 Vintage $65.
2nd Place – 69 pts, 2012 Dutton-Goldfield, Freestone Hill Vineyard. 2021 Vintage $72.
3rd Place – 80 pts, 2017 Black Kite “Kite’s Rest Vineyard”. 2023 Vintage $50.
4th Place – 86 pts, 2015 Three Sticks “The James”. 2024 Vintage $65.
5th Place – 102 pts, 2016 Goldeneye. 2021 Vintage $62.
6th Place – 117 pts, 2015 RAEN, Freestone Occidental Bodega Vineyard. 2024 Vintage $170.
7th Place – 119 pts, 2016 Anthill Farms, Demuth Vineyard. 2015 Vintage $56.
8th Place – 157 pts, 2016 Peay Vineyards, Savoy Vineyard. 2022 Vintage $80.
| Rank | 7 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Total Points | 119 | 157 | 80 | 102 | 117 | 62 | 86 | 69 |
| Your Name | Btl 1 | Btl 2 | Btl 3 | Btl 4 | Btl 5 | Btl 6 | Btl 7 | Btl 8 |
| Marie Coppola | 8 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Suzi Mills | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Laura | 7 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| David Gibson | 4 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| John Henry | 7 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Betty Hood-Gibson | 7 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Sue Beyer | 5 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Phyllis | 7 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Steve Shank | 7 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Richard Mills | 3 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| Marjie | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 4 |
| Lala | 7 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| Diane Gandara | 5 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| David Gandara | 6 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Kathleen Gates | 1 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Steve Smith | 1 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 3 |
| David H | 3 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 1 |
| Ed | 7 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| Roxanne Swasey | 7 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Diane D | 8 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Susi E | 6 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Rick Taylor | 3 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
Cellar Society of San Francisco 