Hanzell Vineyards estate spotlight
The Press Democrat walks the Mayacamas hillside estate Ambassador James Zellerbach planted in 1953: 1953 vineyard, cave, and the original 1956 cellar, now a museum.
2021 Hanzell Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir Sonoma Valley, USA
The Estate Pinot from Sonoma's Burgundian pioneer, forty-five dollars a bottle against an $88 SRP.
This is the Estate Pinot Noir, grown, produced, and bottled at Hanzell above Sonoma since 1953. The 2021 is Bing cherry, bergamot tea, forest floor, and blood orange, now $45 against an $88 SRP.
49% off the supplied street price
The Estate Pinot, forty-five dollars
This is not a second label. It is Hanzell's Estate Pinot Noir from the Mayacamas hill, one of the oldest continually producing Pinot sites in the New World.
The house
Ambassador James Zellerbach planted Chardonnay and Pinot Noir here in 1953, naming the estate for his wife Hana. The de Brye family has owned it since 1975.
The ground
Mayacamas slopes above Sonoma, volcanic clay-loam, 450 to 830 feet. The original 1953 block is still in production.
The style
Old-school California Pinot: not extracted, not sweet. Cherry, tea, orange peel, forest floor, and tension.
The buy
$45 a bottle, $270 for six, $540 for twelve with free shipping. The supplied SRP is $88.
What is $45 Hanzell Estate Pinot actually buying?
$45 versus the $88 SRP supplied for this promotion is 49 percent off. The Estate Pinot often sits in the $80s. This is the slash.
At $45 per bottle, the 6-bottle allocation totals $270.
Review Wine-Searcher (opens in a new tab) and Hanzell Vineyards (opens in a new tab) for current releases. The $88 SRP is supplied for this promotion.
Slash price per bottle, 49 percent under the supplied $88 SRP.
Cherry, tea, orange peel, and forest floor
House notes on the 2021 Sonoma Pinot point to Bing cherry, bergamot tea, cranberry, pomegranate, worn leather, orange peel, forest floor, and rose petal, with a long bright finish.
A taut California Pinot year. Hanzell kept extraction gentle and the frame mineral. The 2021 drinks now and will take more time in bottle.
Bing cherry, bergamot tea, cranberry, pomegranate, orange peel, forest floor, rose petal.
Lifted, not heavy. Fine tannin, bright acid, a mineral line through the middle.
Long and bright. Serve near 58 F. A short decant if young.
Whole cluster, French oak, a short rest
Hanzell still makes Pinot the Burgundy way: cold soak, French barrels, no jam.
Estate: 200 acres on the Mayacamas, about 46 of them vines, CCOF organic. The original 1956 cellar is still on the hill.
Cellar: Pinot sees a cold soak and French oak. Estate lots have historically used a share of whole cluster and a minority of new barrels.
Intent: Character over extraction. Jason Jardine leads the cellar today.
From Clos de Vougeot dreams to the de Brye hill
Zellerbach came home from Burgundy and built a California Clos.
James Zellerbach, industrialist and U.S. ambassador, fell for Burgundy and planted Pinot Noir and Chardonnay above Sonoma in 1953, when North America had only a few hundred acres of each.
The first vintage was 1957. Brad Webb set the house style. The de Brye family has owned Hanzell since 1975. Only a handful of winemakers have ever run the cellar.
Forty-five dollars today for the 2021 Estate Pinot from that hill.
Salmon in the glaze, risotto in the bowl
Lifted Pinot wants fish with fat and earthy mushroom, not a heavy roast.
Two plates. One glazed salmon. One mushroom risotto. Both can take cherry, tea, and a mineral line.
Serve near 58 F in a Burgundy glass. A short decant if the wine is tight.
Honey garlic salmon
Nagi's glazed salmon, herbs. Sweet fish and Pinot cherry, no restaurant wait.
Why it works: Glaze and salmon fat meet red fruit while the wine's acid keeps the plate bright.
View Recipe for Honey Garlic Salmon (opens in a new tab)
Mushroom risotto
Nagi's creamy risotto, thyme, parmesan. Forest floor in the glass, forest floor in the bowl.
Why it works: Mushroom earth echoes sous-bois while cream softens fine Pinot tannin.
View Recipe for Mushroom Risotto (opens in a new tab)Put Hanzell Estate Pinot on the table tonight
This is the Estate Pinot from the 1953 hill, without the estate waiting list.
Cherry, tea, orange peel. 58 F, salmon or risotto.
Six bottles at $270.
Twelve at $540, ships free.
Take the 2021 Hanzell Estate Pinot Noir home while the Estate bottle still costs forty-five dollars.
