VINOUS, DECEMBER 2016

2014 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Casteel – 93

Deep red. Sexy, highly perfumed aromas of ripe red and dark berries, patchouli and candied flowers; suave Asian spice and mineral nuances add urgency. Offers juicy, palate-staining black raspberry, cherry cola and spicecake flavors and sweet vanilla and mocha qualities that emerge steadily as the wine opens up. Plays richness off vivacity with a sure hand and closes extremely long, sweet and vaguely smoky, with just a hint of dusty tannins lending shape and grip. — Josh Raynolds

2014 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Flat Block – 92

Brilliant red. Sexy, mineral-accented cherry and red berry preserve scents pick up floral and cola nuances with air. Fleshy and expansive in the mouth, offering appealingly sweet raspberry and cherry flavors and suggestions of mocha and rose pastille. Nicely energetic for its power, finishing with solid, fruity punch, sneaky tannins and floral notes. — Josh Raynolds

2014 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Southeast Block – 92

Dark red. Smoke- and mineral-accented red and blue fruits, spicecake and cola on the deeply perfumed nose; suggestions of pungent flowers and licorice come up with aeration. Gently sweet cherry cola and boysenberry flavors are underscored by a core of smoky minerals that gains intensity with air. Smoothly plays power off vivacity and finishes very long and sweet, with harmonious tannins lending gentle grip. — Josh Raynolds

2014 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir West Block – 93

Ruby-red. Ripe red berry and incense aromas are complicated by suggestions of Asian spices and smoky minerals. Sweet and energetic on the palate, offering juicy red fruit liqueur and spicecake flavors that gain depth with air while picking up deeper licorice and cola nuances. Sappy, seamless and focused on the very long, smoke-tinged finish, which features fine-grained tannins and a late jolt of minerality. — Josh Raynolds

2014 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Justice Vineyard – 92

Deep red. Powerful, oak-spiced black raspberry, cherry- vanilla and mocha scents, along with hints of licorice and cola. Plush and broad on the palate, offering smoke-tinged cherry and dark berry flavors that slowly become brighter and more lively with air. Showing a fair amount oak influence right now, but there appears to be more than enough fruit to buffer it. Finishes smoky, spicy and very long, featuring an echoing cherry note and mounting tannins. — Josh Raynolds

2014 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Estate – 90

Limpid red. Vibrant mineral- and spice-tinged aromas of ripe cherry and red berries, complicated by a hint of blood orange. Clean and racy on entry, then deeper in the midpalate, offering bitter cherry and orange pith flavors with a sweet touch of candied rose. Dusty tannins come up slowly on a sappy, focused finish that lingers with very good, gently spicy persistence. — Josh Raynolds