Gary Farrell Vineyards & Winery, Russian River Valley (Sonoma County, California) Pinot Noir 2017

 There’s no point in me being coy about this wine, as it is probably the single best current release Pinot I’ve tasted out of California in 2021, and among the most admirable and interesting I’ve tasted from the Golden State at this stage of development…ever.  Lithe and lacey, with an incredibly high ratio of aroma and flavor to weight, it is elegant but expressive, enticing, and energetic.  Although fully ripe and substantial in palate impact, depth of flavor and length of finish, the bright cherry and berry fruit notes are lifted and the wine never loses its delicate impression through a very long, symmetrical finish.  One could argue that this is the wine to use for a refutation of those who dismiss California Pinots as being too big and soupy to reflect the variety’s best attributes.  And I suppose that if you are bent on converting such people, you should do exactly that.  But if I get my mitts on another bottle of this, I’ll keep it for a decade (not selfishly, but for the sake of science), knowing it has a better-than-even chance to merit a higher score than this already-eye-popping 96.  It isn’t easy to amaze with restraint, but that’s what this wine achieves.