Wine of the week: Enkidu, 2010 Tina Marie, Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

<p>To make great pinot you have to be zen-like.</p><p>That's according to Phillip Staehle, the winemaker behind our wine-of-the-week winner— the Enkidu, 2010 Tina Marie, Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, 14.4 percent alcohol, ($45).</p><p>The pinot is elegant with refreshing acidity and layered flavors of cherry, herbs and spice. It has great minerality and nice length.</p><p>“You take more of a gentle hand with pinot noir as opposed to petite sirah and beat it like a red-headed step-child,” Staehle joked. “You have to be zen-like and don't force it. In it's own sweet time, it will be there. You have to let it unfold on its own.”</p><p>Staehle said patience was definitely a virtue during the cool harvest of 2010 when a longer hang time was needed.</p><p>“We were able to give it a long hang time without driving up the sugars,” Staehle said. “With pinot, it can be very etherial with a satin texture and much more femininity. It's not like a big petite sirah.”</p><p>Staehle said the winning Enkidu pinot hails from an 11-acre vineyard in the Russian River Valley, and pinot from this region is blessed with layered flavors raspberry, cranberry, black fruit, brown spice and mushroom.</p><p>'It's sometimes even meaty,” Staehle said. “The pinot develops levels of complexities as the wines evolve and these wines tend to be very harmonious.”</p><p>Staehle founded Enkidu in Sonoma in 2003, and he's the owner and winemaker. He began his career in 1987 at Carmenet, now known as Repris Wines in Sonoma.</p><p>Enkidu produces 4,000 case a year, up from 250, and the range includes pinot noir, petite sirah, zinfandel, cabernet, syrah, sauvignon blanc and chardonnay. But Staehle also experiments with other varietals like barbera and carignane. </p><p>“Winemakers like to play,” he joked.</p><p>Enkidu is attempting to produce austere old world wines with most under 14 percent alcohol, and it pours many of its bottlings in its Kenwood tasting room.</p><p>With pinot noir, Staehle said, he's trying to capture its complexity and beauty.</p><p>“You lose complexity and lose a sense of place when you make it riper and riper and it goes to a place of being over-ripe,” Staehle said. “Pinot noir is more subtle in a lot of ways, and we're not trying to make it such a powerful wine.”</p><p>Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at 521-5310 or peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com.</p><h3>RECAPPING THE PICKS</h3> <p>THE PRESS DEMOCRAT</p><p>Wine of the Week</p><p>Scouting for the tastiest pinot noirs</p><p>Wine writer Peg Melnik had a blind tasting this week of pinot noirs, from crisp to ripe, with plenty in-between. Our wine-of-the-week winner is the Enkidu, 2010 Tina Marie, Russian River Valley Pinot Noir at $45, well worth the price.</p><p>TOP PICK</p><p>Enkidu</p><p>2010 Tina Marie, Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, 14.4 percent alcohol, ($45).</p><p>An elegant pinot with refreshing acidity and layered flavors. Notes of cherry, herbs and spice. Great minerality. Nice length.</p><p>Others worth noting:</p><p>Dutton Goldfield, 2011 Dutton Ranch, Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, 13.5 percent, $40.</p><p>A bright pinot noir with lovely red fruit -- cherry and rhubarb. Seamless texture. Nice length.</p><p>MacMurray Ranch, 2010 Russian River Valley, Sonoma County Pinot Noir, 13.8 percent, $27.</p><p>A tasty pinot with notes of black cherry, toast and spice. Lingering finish.</p><p>Pali, 2011 Alphabets, Willamette Valley, 13.3 percent, $21.</p><p>A ripe pinot with aromas and flavors of cranberry, bing cherry and white pepper. Layered flavors. Lovely.</p><p>Chamisal Vineyards, 2010 Edna Valley Pinot Noir, 14.5 percent, $38.</p><p>A bright pinot with red notes. Aromas and flavors of strawberry, raspberry and cranberry. A touch earthy. Crisp finish.</p>