Saintsbury single-vineyard pinot noirs

I have long been a fan of Saintsbury's Carneros pinot noir. Recently I noticed that Saintsbury now also has three single-vineyard pinot noirs, at a price premium, of course. Has anyone tried these? How do they compare with the Carneros cuvee?

-Paul W.

[David M. Bueker]

The single vineyard wines have been around for quite a while. I never got up the nerve to grab some, having so many other Pinots I was already buying.

You know I used to buy Saintsbury in the 90s and early aughts, haven't in many years. Not a conscious decision, just haven't. At that time I think only single vineyard was the Brown Ranch. I'll look to see what they have now.

I had been drinking Saintsbury Carneros pinot noir 5-10 years past the vintage. Back in 2015 I found three bottles of vintage 2000 that had gotten lost in my cellar. At 15 years past the vintage, the Saintsbury Carneros was a dead ringer for a good Nuits-St.-Georges. I'm trying to keep my hands off the more recent vintages.

-Paul W.