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{ SOMMjournal.com } 123 Day 2 Pinot Noir Terroirs and Clones Parsing Santa Cruz Mountains Sub- Regions. At 8:30 on our second morning, we gathered at Wrights Station Vineyard & Winery for a tasting of 14 Pinot Noirs representing a good range of Santa Cruz Mountains sub-regions. Foxx Viticulture's Prudy Foxx led us through each wine, bringing her 20 years of experience in the region—managing more than 60 vineyards for some 30 wineries at a time—to help us sort out the terroir related distinctions. In our first flight, we tasted Pinot Noirs grown in the loosely defined Chaine d'Or and adjoining Skyline areas. According to Foxx, "East-facing slopes skirting the appel - lation's east side have always been desir- able for their exposure to morning sun, especially for delicate varieties like Pinot." A beautifully flowery, delicate yet spicy 2014 Mount Eden Estate Pinot Noir from this fabled 2,000-foot elevation estate was com - pared to 2014 Mindego Ridge, the latter, a younger (est. 2009), lower-elevation plant- ing (700 to 950 feet) falling in the Skyline area, surrounded by old redwood growth that adds a sweetly woodsy flourishes to acid-mobilized red fruit. By comparison, a 2012 Kings Mountain Pinot Noir—from a more exposed, warmer site located at the northernmost point of the Chaine d'Or— came across as riper and less floral in fruit, more austere on the palate. In our second flight we tasted Pinot Noirs from the mountainous area of Summit—named for the tiny com - munity along Summit Road, near Loma Prieta—with plantings as high as 2,600 feet. Grown on Summit's highest peak, the 2010 Silver Mountain Muns Vineyard Pinot Noir exuded super-strawberry fruit and great acid/tannin structuring. Both a 2013 Burrell School Principal's Choice Reserve and 2014 Silver tip Vineyards were simi - lar—dense in phenols, acid-lifted red fruit and a redwood-ish ear thiness—while a 2013 Wrights Station Arena Block layered meaty tannin with sensations of licorice and dried herbs. In our third flight, we explored heavily wooded areas on lower slopes (800 to 1,800 feet) in the Scotts Valley/Soquel sub-region, epitomized by a 2012 Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard Vine Hill Reserve, replete with cherry/strawberry and tight, steely acid. A 2013 Armitage Robert Reserve was similar in structure, with an herbiness suggesting sweet, minty pennyroyal. Finally, in our fourth flight, we tasted Pinot Noirs from the AVA's southernmost sub-region, called Corralitos/Pleasant Valley. At lower elevations (400 to 1,400 feet) strongly influenced by cool coastal air, sandy colluvium soils and close proximity (four to seven miles) to Monterey Bay, this area is described by Foxx as "its own world, apart from the rest of the appellation, producing more 'girly' wines—fragrant, higher acids, silky, delicate." The 2014 Big Basin Coast Grade Vineyard, picked at lower sugars (12.8% alcohol), was a Corralitos poster child—slightly herbaceous, but also flow - ery, lavendery, prickly with acidity and red ber ries. The 2014 Sante Arcangeli Lester Vineyard was softer and more voluptuous in its floral strawberry/cherry fruit; while a 2013 Ser Winery Lilo Vineyard came across as sweetly spiced, with woodsy notes behind flowery red fruit. Corralitos/Pleasant Valley Field Walks. We spent the rest of our second day with Prudy Foxx, exploring the exciting, emerging area around the community of Corralitos. Our stops: Bargetto Winery's Regan Estate Vineyards: 36.5 acres of mostly Mount Eden clones of Pinot Noir (plus Chardonnay, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo and Refosco) on a clay loam knoll (topping 575 feet) less than seven miles from Monterey Bay. Highlight: the extravagantly lush, flowery, full- yet compact-feeling 2014 Bargetto Regan Vineyards Reserve Pinot Noir. Split Rail Vineyard—sourced by Sante Arcangeli Family Wines: an ancient lake bed (sandstone and clay over limestone) perched on a 1,500- to 1,700-foot slope overlooking Monterey Bay. Said Sante Arcangeli owner/winemaker John Benedetti, "David Bruce, for whom this vineyard was originally planted, always said that where you see giant madrones and redwoods together, you find a perfect spot for Pinot Noir." Savaria Vineyard—farmed by Foxx Viticulture, and par t of LIOCO Wine Company's single-vineyard Pinot Noir program—located on a gently sloped, 500-foot elevation sandy loam bench. Highlight: The sleek, coiled, slender, bril - Mindego Ridge Pinot Noir. The delicate, flowery, silken, zesty 2013 Sante Arcangeli Split Rail Vineyard Pinot Noir melds cherry perfume with subtle notes of redwood bark and crushed leaves. LIOCO Pinot Noir from Savaria Vineyard.