2012 Von Holt, Pinot Noir, Platt Vineyard, Sonoma Coast.
San Francisco’s Von Holt, owned by ex secret service agent Chris Von Holt, is a label that has been raising it’s game and sourcing from top vineyards, and these 2012 wines are a major step up for them and winemaker John Fonnes, a serious talent here in the City. The new Platt Pinot is sublime, elegant and shows a wonderful delicacy with fine details and a silky palate, as you’d expect from this site in the cool Sonoma Coast, a site that Littorai and other great wineries favor. Fonnes tapped into the inner core of purity with this beautiful Pinot Noir, there is dream like quality to this wine that really appeals, this is very seductive juice and it is remarkably refined and has nice lift and cut with vibrant, yet smooth acidity and no noticeable alcohol heat, everything is gloriously seamless. The Platt starts with rose petals/water, tea spice, wild strawberry, fresh picked plum and a core of cherry fruit along with a hint of smoke, fennel, light cedar and salted gravel, finishing with framboise and a faint trace of vanilla, showing a deft touch with the wood. This wine is medium weight, classy and focused, while it may not be a blockbuster or a wine to age a decade, it is really good now and should prove a worthy find over the next 3 to 5 years, drink 2014 to 2018.
($45 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive
