Patz & Hall Wine Co.

James Hall, Anne Moses, and Don and Heather Patz cranked it up in 1988 with a hold-your-breath business model: don’t own vineyards, pay top dollar for great fruit from name-brand growers, make killer wine, and pray that people love you even if there’s no winery or estate for them to visit. It worked, and now hundreds of labels follow the model.

Because they had all been in the wine business previously, they knew where to look for their fruit. One of their early sources – and still one of the best – is Hyde Vineyard in the far northeastern corner of Carneros (also known as Napa Valley). This is rolling terrain, drained by rills and creeks and full of rocks, swirls of changing soils, and the footprints of Larry Hyde and his vineyard crew. These guys know their site, they know each vine intimately, and they don’t compromise.

Winemaker James Hall is not into compromise either. His Patz & Hall 2004 Pinot Noir Napa Valley Hyde Vineyard ($55) would remind you of classic French Burgundy except that the original models are rarely this flawless. They’re not delivered at nearly 15% alcohol, either, but this is one of those cases – often boasted of but not that often exhibited – where the wine’s in balance at high alcohol and wouldn’t be as good less ripe. There’s absolutely true varietal character in the aromas and flavors, an impressive flood of fruit as it enters your mouth, and a cool dense core of flavor all through the midpalate and deep into the finish. Beautiful now and a slam dunk to dazzle in or after 2010.

Reviewed June 15, 2006 by Thom Elkjer.