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EP 856 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Tasting with Toby Hill of Phillips Hill Estates

Gary Vaynerchuk invites Toby Hill to talk about the effects of the forest fires on the grapes in Anderson Valley during the 2008 vintage. They taste through three different 2008 Pinots from his winery, Phillips Hill Estates.

Wines tasted in this episode:

2008 Phillips Hill Ring of Fire Pinot Noir
2008 Phillips Hill Beeson Tree Pinot Noir
2007 Phillips Hill Oppenlander Vineyard Pinot Noir

Links mentioned in todays episode.


Latest Comment:

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luca bercelli

90/100

The chalk and cheese episode!
It would be hard to find two people more different than GV and the guest but it does make for a fascinating show. And the wines sound delicious

Tags: Anderson Valley, Pinot Noir, red, review, wine, wines

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  • Anonymous

    If you didn’t like the Kermit Lynch episodes you’d better check your pulse.

  • waynoooo daaaaa winoooo

    RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • theDude

    What r u smokin? Youre on a bad trip man!

  • theDude

    How do you know he doesn’t have knowledge or passion? Do you think he made high quality wine in multiple vintages by accident? He never said he was a talk show host…he’s an artist with a talent for making wine. Sorry for the rant jared….but had to pick someone for this rebuttal.

  • NY Pete

    hey hey

  • NY Pete

    Happy Birthday Mrs.V!!!!!!!

  • NY Pete

    Gary loves Cindy.

  • Gary. sounds like a great time I'll cook!

  • castello

    top 5?

  • njc2o

    sixth!

  • zrm

    top 10

  • benkearney

    Pinot ROCKS!

  • John_Kenneth_J

    qotd: I got into wine from working at a french restaurant, so I got into old world 1st. Took me a while to get into those new world fruit bombs. So my palate went from old world to new and now I have equal appreciation for both, whether old world, new world, still, sparkling, light, fortified, white, red, rose or yellow-so long as the quality is there.

  • *Sigh* 7 out of the last 8 episodes have been (overly long and not very interesting – for the time spent) guest episodes. Gary's new year's resolution (“to have fewer guest episodes”).

    PPPPAAAAAAAAAAAAZZZZZZZZZZZ!

  • NY Pete

    imho … good show GV.

  • Sonia

    Phillips Hill is one of my favorite wineries, thanks for having Toby on! I actually got to taste some of those wines as barrel samples, a great experience. In regards to my pinot noir palate… I haven't changed too much. The first pinot noir I liked was from Anderson Valley and I can't seem to pull myself from the area, Phillips Hill being a big factor in that. =)

  • castello

    My palate used to be mostly big red cali cab/merlowwww but I've enjoyed expanding since watching WLTV. Still not big on PN! Would like to try his wines but pretty pricey. I love silky smooth. Who doesn't love silky smoooooooooooth? How about a deal on I fell in to a burning RING OF FIRE!

  • Agreed. Nice enough guy, and happy for him that his wines showed well, but meh…

  • jaysonbryant

    What happened to your little round up at the end, after the winemaker had gone, leaving us with a true reflection of their wines?

  • QOTD: Have really enjoyed diving into Burgundy lately… my wallet hasn't enjoyed it so much.

  • SamKw

    First of all, happy birthday to Mrs. Vaynerchuk!

    QOTD: Right now, I'm digging wines from the southern Rhone and Italy (which in itself is a huge category, of course, but I love them all, from Barbaresco to Brunello to Alto-Adige whites.) I don't know if these preferences are going to stick with me, or if I'm just going through a phase. As far as pinot noirs go, though, I'm leaning more towards Burgundy than California or NZ.

  • waynoooo daaaaa winoooo

    YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW !!!!!!!!!!!!
    CALI PINOT NOIR iiiiin daaaaa HIIIIIIIIIIIIIZZZZZZZZYYYYYYYYYY !!!!!!!!!! :O)

  • jsums

    Very chill, low-key guest…but I like him…and obviously he knows how to make great PN. Good stuff. QOTD – Palate hasn't really changed for PN. I want silky smooth texture, bright red berry fruit, some gamey/jerky action, and on the nose loads of funky pine/mushroom/damp leaves happening. That profile is harder to find, but so worth it. Anderson Valley is by far my favorite region in Cali for PN. It's no surprise, given the producer and region, that these wines showed well.

  • jared

    Good grief, guy. Might want to work on your marketing skills, cause you came across as a sleeping pill with no real knowledge or passion. I don't mean to come across mean. You really just might want to work on that, because it'd be hard for a lot of people to buy wine from someone with that demeanor, and you can go far with a little shine

  • waynoooo daaaaa winoooo

    Boy, I'm sure glad I don't have your Attitude……. Life's toooo Short to be
    MISERABLE day-in-day-out !!!

  • rwino

    QOD: As far as Pinot, my taste these days are for rich earthy styles with a touch of pepper.

  • RJurman

    I have to agree with a few of the previous posts. Long and drawn out episode. Almost painful to get through. Too many guests lumped together.
    Currently drinking more Cali Cabs. I had a Shafer Hillside and it just started a Cab trend.

  • jparadise

    Happy B-Day Mrs. V

    I have to say I prefer the experiment with the post appearance scoring but interesting Pinots definitely sounds like they're worth a shot.

    QotD: I'm finding myself becoming more and more of an acid freak. I'm searching for a wine that really rips the s#$t out of my mouth with angry acidity.

    Oh and definitely can't wait for 7/10!!

  • zrm

    He seems like a nice guy but an underwhelming guest. His wines seem like they rock though for sure and I love those labels!

    QOD: I am in a fruit forward flavor profile now. I had been much more dirt and earthy but I want fruits now. But keep the ABV down. I won't buy a wine if it says 15+

    -ZRM

  • waynoooo daaaaa winoooo

    HAAAAAAAAAAPPYYYYYYY BIRTHDAY, MRS. VAYNERCHUK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • zrm

    I preferred it myself as well. It at least makes it seem more impartial

  • Paul

    Hey keep the guests coming I enjoy hearing from these people and learning their stories! Very interesting stuff as I am just starting in the wine business and am trying to learn anything and everything!

  • John

    the wines sounds great, but i can't stand when guests seem disinterested in being on the show…

  • subdaimon

    Solid Episode, joining the mailing list and look forward to picking up a few 2008s.

    QOTD: Swinging back to the old world, Loire, Burgundy and Bordeaux. Still picking up Cali Pinot, some Spain and Portugal, but in lesser quantities.

    And Happy Birthday Mrs. V

  • Vinny

    I remember the 2008 show very well. It was the first time I got caught up in your enthusiasm for a wine – I ended up buying some – and some of the 2006 as well. There were a few more wines after that – 2003 Guigal Brun et Blond, 2005 Vinya dels Taus, 2006 Mitolo G.A.M . . but Phillips Hill was the first wine you got me all pumped on.

    QOTD – I'm not drinking a lot of Pinot right now – don't know why.

  • castello

    Pretty greedy! Top three hat trick!?

  • drt999

    QPTD — right now, Bordeaux reds and Cali PN seem to hit the spot!

  • guymandude

    Good show and guest.
    qotd; Don't typically like CA Pinot's, more Burg./ Or. style for me

  • waynoooo daaaaa winoooo

    “smooooooooooooooooooooooooooth” is Gooooooooooooooooooood !!!!!!!!! :O)

  • My PAL is into lots of veggies and a little tobacco road recently.

    Still like a lil fruit bomb though.

  • Happy Bday Mrs. V…so glad you had GV! I know your a proud mom!!

    QOTD: I've always like Burgundy PN not so much Cali. But my overall palate has changed a little, I'm opening up to more whites and discovering some lovely ones.

    GSM is still one my favorites!! Had a fabulous '06 Boscarelli Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and loved it too! Thanks to you I've made more daring choices and they turned out for the better!

  • Clemclone

    I signed on with Phillips Hill after the first show and joined the wine club after the first bottle arrived. Have not been disappointed. I tasted the Ring of Fire and you can taste the smoke. Very good. Give Toby some slack, not everyone does great interviews. You don't have to when you make great wines.

    QOTD: Pinots are my favorites with so much variety in both nose and taste.

  • divyamistry

    Nice episode. Very chilled out guest.
    QOTD: My palate is definitely shifting right now, but not sure where it is going. What I used to like a couple of months ago, started becoming uninspiring in last 2-3 weeks. So now I'm just trying out wide variety of things to see what's gonna be *it* for the next palate-season.

  • ChrisNY2

    Nice guest and good tasting notes Gary.

    I haven't really been feeling the Pinots lately. Ring of Fire sounds interesting though. Thanks guys.

  • laurieinvt

    Happy Birthday, Mom Vaynerchuk!
    Toby seems like a decent guy- being the next guest in the next episode after Kermit Lynch is not an enviable spot to be in! I would've liked a more in-depth discussion of the effects of the smoke on the vines themselves as well as that years' crop.
    QOTD: I don't drink much Pinot Noir, so I guess that I'm still in the process of developing my palate for this varietal. I know I've enjoyed a couple of Oregon PN's along the way.

  • CKCzz

    who said he's miserable?

  • scottEJ

    Thanks G & Toby. I visited Philips Hill tasting room last fall and left with 6 wines. A very nice woman from NY was working and we both thought she and the wines were great. We also stopped in Toullouse and had a nice experience w/the owner, Vern. I'm quite glad to see these '08's looking good.

    QOTD: As far as pinot goes, I'm liking some of bigger wines w/that CA fruit. I just came back from the Russian River Valley and tasted quite a few and actually the one that stood out most was a 2008…go figure.

  • @10:54
    Wait wait, let me get this straight Gary. You don't support any killing of animals yet you eat plenty of meat am I right? That seems like a bit of a conflict, you know that steak in the supermarket comes from the death of an animal don't you?

  • jander1901

    I am not into judging any wine by the personality of the winemaker…but the personality
    of the wines they produce! I cellar many Phillips Hill wines and have spoken with Toby personally many times. His passion (and gift) for crafting fine pinots is apparent.

  • Just Jack

    I'm glad that this show went off without any disasters. I was worried for a second that if Toby got any more excited he might have a heart attack or something. He was pretty worked up there.

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