2014 Capiaux, Pinot Noir, Widdoes Vineyard, Russian River Valley.
Sean Capiaux’s 2014’s are some of his best wines to date, the ex-Peter Michael man has crafted a great set of wines that seem more energy filled and elegant than I remember, even though I’ve been a long time fan, these really impressed me with their class and length, especially his Widdoes Vineyard, which is a stunning example of Russian River Valley Pinot. The fine tuned Widdoes 2014 shows a beautiful and heighten perfume of morning rose and subtle violet with hints of spice, frambois and light smoky vanilla leading to a dark fruited palate that shows a finessed touch with black cherry, plum and strawberry along with cinnamon, sweet tea and a bit of mission fig and saline. This wine is richly flavored, but still vibrant and not at all heavy, look for Chapeaux’s 2014 Widdoes to age with grace and gain in detail, Sean uses cool maceration in stainless, with severe sorting and mostly de-stemmed grapes, employing native fermentations and less new oak in this cuvee, about a third new, and aged between 10-15 months in French barrique, before resting in bottle, unfined and unfiltered. This ruby and bing cherry hued Pinot Noir is a open and generous wine that pleases from start to finish with silky tannins, ripe fruit layers and lifting juicy acidity, all highlighting a near perfect vintage in the region, it’s the cat’s meow even now, though I believe it should improve with a couple of years in the cellar, best from 2019 to 2026.
($45 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive
