Freddy R. Troya

9.4

Etude – Heirloom Pinot Noir 2012
Grace Benoist Ranch, Carneros AVA – California, USA 🇺🇸

Overview
Estate-grown from the celebrated Grace Benoist Ranch, this Heirloom Pinot underscores Etude’s mastery of Carneros terroir. Over a decade since harvest, it has aged with remarkable poise, offering proof that Carneros Pinot can rival the greats for longevity. This one delivers the wow-factor in spades.

Aromas & Flavors
Dried cherry, black raspberry, and plum layered with rose petal, tea leaf, and subtle leather. Mature accents of forest floor and truffle bring savory depth to the fruit core.

Mouthfeel
Silky and seamless, with tannins fully resolved into finesse. Bright acidity carries the wine gracefully, while the finish lingers in layers of spice, earth, and fruit. Quite literally, the wine dances in the mouth.

Food Pairing
A natural match with duck confit, wild mushroom risotto, or aged Comté cheese. The wine’s silky texture and earthy notes intertwine beautifully with savory, umami-rich dishes.

The Verdict
A captivating Pinot Noir that reaffirms Etude’s finesse and Grace Benoist Ranch’s pedigree. This 2012 shows the sweet spot for Etude Heirloom around the 10–12 year mark, where fruit, earth, and structure harmonize in peak expression. Among Carneros’ top benchmarks for age-worthy Pinot. Cheers! — 6 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2021 vintage. Last tasted 01.29.25 (9.6). Double decanted and tasted after one hour. Sumptuous medium body. Feminine-styled nose. Delicate flavors with über-fine tannins. Obvious presence without needless fanfare. Regal with a quiet, enduring elegance and pedigree. 05.21.25. — 9 months ago

David Koenen

9.3

Fantastic showing. Hazelnut, ginger, pineapple and toast, brilliant balance. Impeccable midpalate followed by a persistent finish with brioche, orange blossom and whipped cream with lemony notes. At its peak. — 4 years ago

Cathy Corison

Owner/Winemaker Corison Winery

8.9

A bit brighter than the Heirloom. — 5 years ago

with Patrick, Chuck-Hou and 3 others

Sarah Stierch

Food & Wine Editor Sonoma Valley Sun

9.0

Pretty good. Lots of fruit. Way better than last year. — 7 years ago

Jennifer Pletcher

9.2

Tastes like buttered popcorn! — 7 years ago

Sarah L

10

$8 hannaford — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

8.9

I honestly don’t know how I came into possession of this 375ml Grand Cru from Cramant. It works for a weekday 1/2 bottle.

100% Chardonnay.

It drinks easy but not eventful. Lemon, lime zest, white peach, tropical melons, tangerine, caramel notes, foamy cream, crisp limestone crumbles, white spice, sea spray-fossils, nice chalkiness, yeasty bread dough, yellow lilies, jasmine, white, spring flowers, zesty acidy and a ripe, rich, balanced finish that lasts 45 seconds and lands on crisp minerality. — 8 months ago

Kurt Schuster

9.0

Seems like a great classic representation of a Chianti. Cherry, Dusty, various baking spices. Interesting enough when it first opened there is definitely a caramel or a burnt sugar going on there, but it faded within the first 5 to 10 minutes. After that it settled down to Fruit forward without any bad tannins or anything else, but still not flabby. Delicious and went very well with our pasta.  — 8 months ago

Aloke Mukherjee

9.0

Christmas 2022 — 3 years ago

Kamall

9.1

I love this lighter weight, more aromatic Grenache. Well worth a look. — 5 years ago

Yuki Watanabe

9.1

Burst of ripe fruits with hint of Tabasco, opens up very quick, taste of chocolate, beautiful wine by itself — 6 years ago

David Shaw

9.0

My fourth and last bottle of the vintage. Call me a fan... — 6 years ago

Eric

9.2

Really ballsy and unique wine. Today’s tasting in Yountville will go down as one of my favorites of all time. First I’d ever heard of this grape, grown in Paso. Black fruit covered in licorice. If you go (and I’d highly recommend it), go for the cheese pairing it’s well worth it. — 8 years ago

Al Shikoh

9.4

Dark ruby red. Black cherry, plum, licorice, and vanilla on the nose with more subtle notes of rose petals and earth. Dense, brooding dark fruit on the palate with balanced acidity and good length. Aged 10 months in 70% new French oak before bottling. — 9 years ago

with Lisa and Kelly

David Shaw

9.2

New vintage! Pale yellow, excellent clarity. Citrus, thyme and black pepper notes in nose. High acid, good body, lots of skin tannins given blanc de noir style of 100% Cabernet Franc. Flavor descriptors of lime peel, lime, thyme and black pepper apply. Mineral finish — 8 months ago

TwiLea Fletcher

8.9

07.1125
Quite quite nice. — 8 months ago

Raul Puga

9.6

So Freaking DELICIOUS!!! — 10 months ago

with Mariana

Ben Lehman

9.3

What can I say I love anything Angela makes, and the new Tribute to Grace tasting room in Los Alamos is a gem. My Dad declared this was his favorite wine ever and my mom is from nearby Cucamonga, so let’s just say everyone was happy. For that reason, wine of our trip out west after not seeing the folks for 18 months. As always, just incredibly elegant Grenache, light on its feet, but not without its nuanced power — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

I kid you not, Charles Hendricks is likely the most underrated & under known Winemaker in Napa Valley.

If you have not had his wines, you are missing out on great wines & relative real value for Napa. He makes his own private higher end label-Hendricks, Hope & Grace and midway through the 14 vintage for; James Cole, Regusci & T-Vine.

There are few Winemakers that can make wines that drink well young & some that will age two decades plus stored correctly.

This Santa Lucia Doctor’s Vineyard is really good but, his private label Hendricks Pinot from Santa Lucia is off the charts. His 2008 Hendricks Pinot Noir is the highest rating I have ever given a Ca Pinot Noir, 98.

The 13 Doctor’s Vineyard is better than his 12 & is still a little early right now. It will improve over the next 5 years & hold there a couple of years before its gentle decline.

The nose reveals, ripe, well extracted & slightly baked; blackberries, stewed, deep, dark, black plum, black cherries, black raspberries, baked strawberries, dry pomegranate & cranberries with shades of blueberries. Dark spices, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanilla, touch of savory meats, anise to black licorice, black tea, wet clay, steeped black tea, touch of herbs dominated with Rosemary, rich, black, earth, dry stones, dry crushed rocks, fresh tobacco, leather notes, volcanic minerals, limestone with bright, fresh & withering florals that are; dark, red, purple, blue mixed in violets and lavender.

The body is full, rich, lush and gorgeous. The structure, tension, length and balance are just hitting their good phase. It is simply a beautiful & complex Pinot Noir. Nicely extracted & slightly baked; blackberries, stewed, deep, dark, black plum, black cherries, black raspberries, baked strawberries, dry pomegranate & cranberries with more blueberries than the nose. Dark spices that bring palate heat, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon stick & vanilla, touch of savory meats, peppery notes, anise to black licorice, black tea, wet clay, steeped black tea, touch of herbs dominated with Rosemary, rich, black, earth, dry stones, dry crushed rocks, fresh tobacco, leather notes, volcanic minerals, limestone with bright, fresh & withering florals that are; dark, red, purple, blue mixed in violets and lavender. The acidity is very good & excellent at containing the slightly higher ABV. The long, complex finish is, well balanced fruit & earth, polished and will persist until dawn.

Photos of; Their Doctor’s Vineyard, one of my favorite paintings that used to hang behind the bar in their tasting room & now hangs in Charles’ house (it reminds me of a Jackson Pollock), Winemaker-Charles Hendricks and the front of their tasting room in downtown Yountville.
— 6 years ago