From thinner, shale, east-facing slopes, 2017 Pinot Noir Joli Coeur is wonderfully complete and balanced, with complexity, elegance, and power all present in this thrilling bottle of wine. Black raspberries, graphite, sandalwood, and crushed rock nuances all flow to a medium to full-bodied effort that has nothing out of place, polished tannins, and integrated acidity. This is one of those wines that builds and grows on you with time in the glass, and it’s a remarkable effort in 2017. Drink it over the coming decade.

(97+ points) The Joli Coeur Pinot Noir comes from the “sweet spot” within the Coteaux Nobles and En Famille vineyards in Fort Ross-Seaview AVA. Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2017 Pinot Noir Joli Coeur comes rolling out of the glass with fragrant notes of chocolate-covered cherries, mulberries and raspberry tart plus nuances of lilacs, underbrush, mossy bark and wild mushrooms. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers mouth-filling red berry and earthy layers, framed by electric acidity and lovely, ripe, grainy tannins, finishing very long. 275 cases were made.