Walter Hansel Winery Cuvée Alyce Pinot Noir 2015

94 Points                                    Another beautiful small-production Pinot Noir from Walter Hansel who continues to make a small amount of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay down the road from Kistler, at unbelievably sane prices.  Stock up while available. 94 Points Robert Parker: "Produced primarily from Dijon cone 115, but also 777, the 2015 Pinot Noir Cuvée Alyce is another blue and red-fruit dominated wine, but with notes of rose petals and violets. It is more closed than the other Pinot Noir and seems to be almost pushing to get out of its relatively structured mouthfeel. This is intense, rich, more backward and probably has a significant upside, but will need several years of bottle age on release next year...Some of the best values in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir emerge from Stephen Hansel’s winery in the Russian River Valley. He also has the wonderful Walter Hansel Wine & Bistro on Guerneville Road in Santa Rosa. Hansel reduced the crop size by 20%-30% through crop thinning in 2014 because of irregular berry size and improved the level of concentration. All of the Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs are bottled unfiltered." 94 Points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "Just as it was last year, 2015 Pinot Noir Cuvée Alyce is decidedly flamboyant. There is not a ton of subtlety here, but I am not sure that really matters much at all. The Alyce expresses all of the intensity and raciness that are such signatures of Russian River Pinots. Plush fruit and soft contours add to the wine's undeniable allure."

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