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| Region | California |
| Appellation | Sonoma County |
| Category | Red Wine |
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| Cat | Region | Year | Producer, Wine | Size | C(s) | Bt(s) | HKD/Cs | HKD/Bt | Score | Critic | |
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California | 2013 | CIRQ, Bootlegger´s Hill Pinot Noir | BT | - | 4 | - | HK$1,800 | 96 | JD | |
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California | 2013 | CIRQ, Bootlegger´s Hill Pinot Noir | BT6 | 4 (6) | - | HK$10,530 | - | 96 | JD | |
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Ample on the palate and broad in shape, the 2013 Pinot Noir Bootlegger´s Hill offers notable depth and intensity to match its decidedly virile personality. A host of black cherry, plum, chocolate, dark spices and new French oak are fused together. This is a decidedly powerful, structured Pinot that needs time to unwind. Tasted next to the Treehouse, the Bootlegger´s Hill is a darker and more brooding in style.
Score: 93 Antonio Galloni (AG), Vinous Media (VM), August 2016
The first vintage from this vineyard, the utterly sensational 694-case 2013 Pinot Noir Bootlegger´s Hill was completely destemmed and was brought up in 55% new French oak, with a small part in concrete egg. Offering incredible notes of creme de cassis and black currants, with beautifully integrated oak, it has medium to full-bodied richness, a seamless, layered, ultra-pure texture, fine tannin and a flat out awesome finish. It´s certainly one of the superstar Pinot Noirs from California and while it´s brilliant today, it should drink well for 10-15+ years.
Run by Michael Browne and focusing on Russian River Valley vineyards, CIRQ was created in 2011 when they released a single Pinot Noir from the Treehouse Vineyard. This higher elevation site is located roughly eight miles from the Pacific, above the fog line, and has unique volcanic and iron-rich soils. This site has been planted to clones 23, Swan, Pommard, Calera and 37. They made their first vintage from the Bootlegger’s Hill Vineyard in 2013. This site sits at a similar elevation to the Treehouse Vineyard, above the fog line, but in a slightly cooler region. The soils are the more classic Goldridge sandy loam soils found throughout the Russian River Valley. This vineyard was planted with clones 115, 667, Pommard, 37, Calera and Elite. The Bootlegger’s Hills release is slightly more perfumed and elegant, whereas the Treehouse Vineyard release is an ever so slightly deeper, richer wine. As I hope the reviews show, these two efforts are at the pinnacle of California Pinot Noir. Readers looking for the next cult winery need to jump on this estate’s mailing list as soon as possible (it might already be too late).
Score: 96 Jeb Dunnuck (JD), JebDunnuck.com (JD), September 2016