The Sonoma Coast is a beast of an appellation – some 60 miles from end to end, covering about 500,000 acres, everything from the farthest reaches of the coast (where some of the most dramatic Pinot is grown) to the inner reaches near San Pablo Bay.

It is a beautifully named example of a bureaucratic snafu. That said, it is also the source for some of the West Coast’s best Pinot Noir.

We wanted to focus on it even with its geographic sprawl. Doubly so for the 2008 vintage, which had the potential to produce brilliant, bright fruit – but also was beset by devastating frost and dramatically reduced crops.

And, yes, the smoke. The wildfires that covered much of the North Coast in summer 2008 have led to a sort of persistent paranoia about the resulting wines, particularly Pinot. (This issue was even more acute to the north, in Mendocino’s Anderson Valley, but we’ll be looking at those wines in coming months.)

To consider this most tricky vintage, I was joined by Chase DuBay, sommelier at Cyrus restaurant in Healdsburg; and Ian Becker, manager of Arlequin Wine Merchant in San Francisco. Both sell a wide range of Sonoma Pinot and have been tasting the 2008s for several months.

The smoke issue isn’t a niggling one; many winemakers filtered their wines, used high-tech options like reverse osmosis, reblended them, declassified and sometimes simply threw them away. (For an early take, see sfgate.com/ZKCT.)

Yet at times, I wondered if our tasting had become an episode of “Lost.” Was the smoke monster for real, wreaking havoc, or were we imagining it?

We found wines that had clear indications of smoke, but we debated whether we were truly detecting leftovers from the fires or just a smoke-like note from something else entirely. After all, there were parts of the sprawling Sonoma Coast that barely saw a whiff of smoke.

My takeaway: 2008 is a year to approach with hesitation. But when it comes to the most talented winemakers and sites, it’s worth approaching. These are complex, delicious wines – some of the best 2008 Pinots we’ve encountered. But they are a reminder of a tough year.

On the other hand, as Pinot reaches a critical mass of popularity, perhaps a complex vintage – one that requires some thought and care in buying – is a reminder that finding great wine is never a simple task.

2008 Baker Lane Ramondo Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($40): There’s more austerity in this bottling from Stephen Singer’s neighbor vineyard. Camphor and deeply extracted black fruit character; almost showing a Russian River-like profile. Lots of loam, and lots of weight to the fruit.

2008 Cobb Coastlands Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($68): The Cobbs have been farming this extreme 14-acre parcel on the far Sonoma Coast since 1989. This new release is an ambitious (and ambitiously priced) effort, but Ross Cobb crafts his family’s estate wine in a tense, tight style that’s remarkably subtle. This is a thinker’s Pinot, ready for the cellar. A subtle loamy note, plus a satin texture amid huckleberry and bright raspberry is what sells it. Lots below the surface, with an earthy density that will evolve and grow.

2008 DeLoach Vineyards Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($21): Clean berryish fruit, with a bit of cinnamon spice and orange peel to back it up. A bit hard-edged, but with lots of drink-early fruit and size (15 percent alcohol).

2008 Freeman Winery Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($44): Winemaker Ed Kurtzman keeps finding ever more nuance with this label. The straight bottling, from a mix of the Rayhill, Guidici and Sexton vineyards, shows a racy, minty huckleberry profile. Its clean lines pushed it ahead of the richer Akiko’s Cuvee. Focused, with warm spice echoes on the finish and a surprising mineral-edged tannic backbone.

2008 Hirsch Vineyards M Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($45): In this tough year, Hirsch produced the M (usually a second cuvee) as its top wine, with a final blend from new winemaker Ross Cobb (see above) dominant in old Pommard and Mt. Eden clones. There’s dry wood and smoke on the nose that tangles with delicate wild strawberry fruit. But there’s also lots of dense, pleasing fruit and layered mineral accents that provide great complexity. With time, that supple fruit should evolve.

2008 Landmark Grand Detour Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($39): The Kenwood winery’s blend of five sites displays a lightness that defines great coastal Pinot. An innate brightness mixes with a rich, spiced nose of nutmeg, tamarind and loam. There’s vibrant, flourished cherry fruit.

2008 Lioco Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($30): A wound-up effort from a Petaluma wind gap site, aged in neutral oak. Tense and more mineral-edged, with a quiet firmness to the tannins. There’s innate brightness here, a natural sense of acidity and a savory orange-fenugreek kick.

2008 Peay Vineyards Estate Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($42): The Peay family found a way to bottle an effort from their short estate crop that shows potential for evolution and depth. Kirsch, orange and loam, and a slightly smoky overtone balance with some brighter cherry fruit. As it opens, dense tannins ease and allow the fruit to show a tense complexity. A solid bet in a tricky year.

2008 Red Car Wines Heaven & Earth La Boheme Vineyard Sonoma Coast ($60): This is arguably Red Car’s more thoughtful bottling – limpid, delicate, full of watermelon and a rich dose of bramble fruit. It’s supple and quiet, with a lighter touch to the oak; with time a dense loamy presence opens up, showing the potential of the soils to telegraph mineral power amid that layered fruit.

2008 Roessler Cellars Red Birds Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($36): An additional Sonoma Coast effort, due soon from Roessler, shows heady fenugreek and cola, with oak-tinged huckleberry fruit. A darker style that shows subtlety. It’s a bit more nuanced than the La Brisa ($32) bottling.

2008 Siduri Sonatera Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($48): The Lees have brought forth a masterfully layered example from this vineyard near Sebastopol on classic Goldridge soils. Soy, cinnamon bark and dry spice atop supple cherry fruit and well-handled tannins. The straight Sonoma Coast bottling ($29) has more tense mineral and toasted-leaf aromas, but lots of sweet fruit to match.

2008 Williams Selyem Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($46): This blend from the Drake, Coastlands, Peay and Hirsch sites – an impressive roster of vineyard sources – finds a balance between subtlety and the label’s hedonistic stamp. Softer edges, with orange-peel highlights and loam. Deliciously evocative.

This article appeared on page K – 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/13/FDMI1ESFFP.DTL&type=winetag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/13/FDMI1ESFFP.DTL”>The Chronicle Recommends: Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

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