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Green Valley Wines

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Iron Horse NV Joy! Sparkling (Green Valley)

Price $147

Aged on the lees for 13 years, this wine has developed stunning creaminess and complexity. Made from 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, it shows a hazelnut smokiness, with fantastically rich, subtle layers of limes, apples, tangerine zest, minerals and yeast. There’s a honeyed richness to the finish, which balances high acidity, making it feel dry. A tremendous… — S.H. (12/31/2009)

Iron Horse 1997 Joy! Blanc de Blancs Sparkling (Green Valley)

Price $179

Score Chasers: USA 2011

A triumph, really. Held back for 14 years and just recently disgorged, it’s fantastically rich and complex, just oozing the most delicious orange, butterscotch, yeast and toast flavors. So silky, so sweet in fruit, and yet with a dry finish. Stands out in any tasting of the best sparklers. Hard to imagine a California bubbly better than this. — S.H. (12/15/2011)

Sequana 2007 Sundawg Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir (Green Valley)

Price $50

This distinctive Pinot Noir’s source is a tiny vineyard in cool Green Valley; the winegrower is James MacPhail, whose own MacPhail Pinot Noirs are so good. The wine itself is totally dry and silky and firm in acidity, yet soft in fine tannins. You might call it noble. It’s eruptive in cherries, sweet smoky bacon, raspberry granola and oaky sandalwood. Gorgeous… — S.H. (10/1/2009)

Iron Horse NV Joy! Sparkling (Green Valley)

Cellar Selection

Price $147

Available in magnum only, this is an occasional bottling from the winery. A winery spokeperson told me my bottle was entirely 1993 vintage, but not all other bottles are. The wine is extraordinarily fine, but compared to other California bubblies, it’s sandpapery and almost harsh at this point. As it warms up in the glass it shows an immense toasted nut and grilled… — S.H. (12/31/2008)

Dutton-Goldfield 2008 Dutton Ranch Rued Vineyard Chardonnay (Green Valley)

Online Exclusive

Price $45

This vineyard has proved itself for so many years that it’s practically a guarantee of greatness. This 2008 is a real stunner. It’s so rich and exotic, so balanced and dry, so clean. Dazzles with pear, pineapple, lychee, roasted hazelnut, crème brûlée, buttered toast, honey and spice flavors, wrapped into a creamy smooth mouthfeel. Brilliant and compelling. Drink now. — S.H. (12/15/2010)

Iron Horse 2002 Brut LD Sparkling (Green Valley)

Editors' Choice

Price $85

Made from equal amounts of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, this wine was aged on the lees for more than four years, which gives it a fabulous creamy, yeasty complexity. There are tantalizing flavors of limes, orange zest, roasted hazelnuts, minerals and smoke. Absolutely wonderful now, and should hold and develop in the bottle through 2014, at least. Only 563 cases produced. — S.H. (12/31/2009)

Iron Horse 2005 Thomas Road Pinot Noir (Green Valley)

Price $70

No doubt about it, this is a big, lusty Pinot Noir. From a low-production parcel of the estate, it routinely produces immensely concentrated wines. The winemaker’s challenge is to give balance and harmony to grapes of this heft, and here, Iron Horse has it figured out. Dry and enormously ripe in cherries, black raspberries, cocoa and cola, it’s good now with lamb… — S.H. (9/1/2007)

Sequana 2009 Sundawg Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir (Green Valley)

Price $50

Another great release from Sequana of this single-vineyard bottling, which hails from the golden slopes of the cool, southwestern part of the Russian River Valley. It’s rich in raspberry, pomegranate and persimmon fruit, elaborated with sweet new French oak, but saved from being merely ripe by a firm minerality and brilliant acidity. Should develop interestingly… — S.H. (2/1/2012)

2009 Occasio

Occasio has made a restrained and elegant Cabernet, alluring in its cola…

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