La Crema, Sonoma Coast (Sonoma County, California) Pinot Noir 2008

 This wine, released only a year or so after the grapes had been harvested, tastes so young that its disparate parts don’t yet fit together harmoniously.  It’s overtly sweet and sappy, without sufficient acidity or a tannic structure for satisfactory balance.  Though the wine may never become truly focused, La Crema has an impressive track record with Pinot Noir, a varietal with which so many other California wineries strike out.  So I’d be willing to bet that it will taste markedly better in a year.  But if I was a restaurateur buying it, I wouldn’t put it on my list anytime soon.