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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.


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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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  • WineWoman

    Birthday Wishes to Tamara Vaynerchuk and many more!!

    Got on the mailing list when you first had the wine on the show. They offer free shipping and some great discounts during the year. Excellent wine.

    QOTD: My palate has gone full circle–started out with a sweet preference then went to semi-dry and then got serious and went bone dry, now coming back to a little Cali-Auzzie ripe fruit, but still enjoy the dry side. Not crazy about dessert wine no matter how delicious it is. Sometimes I'll have a port paired with some chocolate but prefer a bubbly demi-sec for dessert.

  • Phil G

    So, GV – so much for the decrease in guests! Its ok, they have been good shows.

    Interesting that you reviewed this guys wine before the last big wine library vaniac party in 2008 – the 3/29 date was on the BB on ep 418! crazy coincidence.

    I think one great thing about this show, was that Toby had mostly brief and short answers/stories, so that Gary didn't have a chance to interrupt!

    Good stuff.

    QOTD – try to taste as many different wines as possible, but I am getting into a rose and sparkling wine kick… might be the warm weather.

  • Another guest does well, though Kermit was a hard act to follow.
    QOTD: Swinging more “old worldy” dirt, cherries, mushroomy type stuff. Loved Montinore Est, from Oregon recently.

  • ahhh…finally home, inside, and fed…starting the download now.
    same shirt so this must be the tasting mentioned in today's “secret” (air quotes ) email.
    Got a budgeting issue from the financial dept this week, so it broke my heart not to move on the Austrian Riesling. That said, we are sipping on he Francois Villard L'appel des Sereines 2007 from last week, and find it extremely intriguing, not fruity or jammy in any way…smoky meaty nose, fruit reserved, vegetal, with a fine but solid tannin structure…maybe I'm nuts but if it was not so spicy I might be thinking Burgundy. Very nice, sorry I went for variety and ordered singles…rookie move, always get at leat two, so you have either a second chance or a plan for the future. Great example of a simple Vin De Pays that could cellar happily, like we talked about during the Kermit Lynch extravaganza.

  • larbear

    I love the cranberry finish in a Pinot. I almost never got to experience it becasue I had written Pinots off. The standard pinot makes my stomach quake. I had a 2002 Cross Point in NY and loved it. Since then I have been looking for that characteristic in Pinots. I have since found Williams Selyam ans my favorite Sequana (sundawg Ridge). I will try your Ring of Fire very soon.

  • larbear

    Oops, the chacteristic I loved was the long cranberry finish. Sorry

  • Happy B-Day to Mrs. V! Definitely will try to make it out on 7/10. Art and wine are great together…keep up the good work, Toby!

    QOTD: With Pinot, I tended to like fruit bombs back in the day, though I crave some of the meaty play now. Explains the large amount of Syrah-based wines I bought in the past year.

  • RANDINTHECITY

    GARY!!!
    Toby!!

    Gary, I will meet the Cindy crew in the city!! Will look for info!!
    Happy Birthday Mrs. Vaynerchuk! Thank you for being such a good Mother to someone who brings so much joy to others! 🙂
    Toby, like how you roll ! <3 Congrats on spectacular wine!

    QOTD: My palate has been experiencing so many different varietals lately, ..and so when I come back around to drinking Pinot, Im left a little bored. I think its resulting in wanting bolder Pinot's

  • QOTD;Tonights pinot is iOTA 2006, Pelos Sandberg Vineyard, Eola-Amity Hills, Oregon.
    My taste loves the great Oregon pinots.

  • Thursday

    qotd: can't get enough poop…. green peppers, coffee, tobacco, chocolate… but need fruit. Finding most satisfaction in Rhone.

    7/10… randomosity… I will be on my way back to NY from vacationing on Long Beach Island… if only I can convince the wife. Must order wine for pickup to create necessity! 😉

  • GaryGaryo

    Gary, get back to the basics, you and a couple of bottle of wine! Classic V!!!! Enough guests already.

  • Will do but this week will be tough for u to watch then 😉

  • I do I do I was just making sure i wasnt tooooooooo over the top when i said lets kill a deer

  • johnfarrin

    I have been on Toby's mailing list since the first show.
    QOTD: I think my pinot palate is definitely expanding. Am liking Anderson Valley, Carneros, Santa Lucia Highlands, Paso Robles, Burgundy. Have to give Oregon more of a chance. Have some Central Otago in the racks waiting.

    Thanks for the 2006 Oppenlander offering a few montrhs ago. 6 hrs of air, very, very nice.

  • orangebottle

    Happy Birthday Mrs. Vee.
    Gary, this is a very solid episode. You did a very nice job on being a good host. Toby is so calm and collective. His art work has a lot of depth and facets. It?ll be interesting to find out his interpretations of the art work, the name of each labels and the juice in the bottles relationships. The expressions and using of the colors on each label is different, that looks like a translation of each style of the juice which he has created. This is a totally different angle of wine making.
    qotd: pinot noir is more attractive than before maybe because of the bouquets. Just had Willamette valley from Argyle winery yesterday.

  • johnfarrin

    Please forgive me Mrs Vaynerchuk. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Anonymous

    99 percent great guests! Keep it up Gary

  • I have to agree with Toby in that mouthfeel is the number one characteristic I look for in a Pinot. So many characteristics can be similar from winery to winery (cherries, cranberries, etc.), that weight has really become the measure by which I differentiate the quality of one Pinot to the next. I've learned to like and appreciate nearly every different (positive) flavor component, but add some body to those flavors and I'm in love!

  • Globex

    big HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout out to mamma vayniac. Although I've never met him, it appears you've raised a very fine boy.

    Good show GV. Hey Toby, I think we partied with the same crew back in the early 80's! The wine, how can I not try the Ring of Fire after that review!! Going to be in Carmel in a few weeks, may make the trek further north to grab a case.

    QOTD: I find my palate changes every couple years, but what's never changed is my attraction for a well made wine.

  • Anonymous

    You had to remind me about the Riesling… I’ll split one with you.

  • Ben K.

    Happy Birthday Gary's Mom! Mother's Day this week too! Oh man!

  • Anonymous

    lmao!
    They have their own language up there in Boonville. It’s a relaxed area

  • Tracy Reasoner

    I have been on Toby's mailing list since episode #418 and in fact I still have a bottle of it left.

    Great guy and great wines.

    QOTD: California Pinot's specifically 2007 as well as 2007 Rhones I have been drinking those almost entirely since last year.

  • Just Jack

    Yes for example appearing in public is known as “going Valium”. So when someone asks Toby what he did yesterday, he would say “I went Valium on the GV tube”.

  • Just Jack

    It’s murder. Tasty tasty murder.

  • corkscrew

    Love Pinot, not had these, but Anderson Valley is producing some good juice. http://www.winelx.com

  • Todd Templeman

    QOTD; Pinot is brand new to me. I started on nebbiolo and it was love! Lately i have really been focusing on tasting new grapes and expressions. I went to a Pinot tasting at a local spot and was very amazed at the difference in the five wines. Two were a strong no, one was an ok, and two were quite amazing. I really like earthy, musty, rich wines which my favorite two fell the closest to. As Gary shows again and again, price threw me a curve. The two i really liked (sorry, i don't remember the maker) was the cheapest and the most expensive, about a $30 difference. It is a grape i need to drink more of.

  • Pinot Noir is sort of a favorite varietal around these parts.

    QOTD: I am in the constant experimentation phase, that means I like to try different brands and regions all the time, don't have such a selective stuffy palate yet, so everything is good to try.

    (sidenote: I don't know if anyone else noticed but the guest seemed to be somewhere else in his mind, he looked tired, a bit… just an observation; he didn't seem all too happy to be in front of the camera, maybe. I don't know.)

  • I'm enjoying the show…interesting guest. He's got a lot going on upstairs, and I sense the tension between his desire to listen to the grapes, and his need to use the medium as a method of expression. Kudos for Toby for biting into the biz side as well.
    Great reminder for folks..find even a small space and try to cellar.

  • theDude

    Its the circle of life GV….but only kill what what you can eat!

  • The New King of "Pape"

    My palate for Pinots are leaning to the lighter bodied aromatic styles. Going away from the concentrated fruit, and really not enjoying the higher alcohol styles. 2008 is a tough year for California Pinots especially with Oregon having such a great 2008.
    But 2007 was great for California and 2009 is also looking fantastic.

  • Illegal_Formation

    My palate could beat up your palate.

  • Nice show, Toby, I'll be checking out your list. I'll say it again, I can't understand folks who would judge the guy based on his “on air” personality…he's got knowledge, he's got the chops, and his wines obviously rock if the dog was an 88+ with room to age. Thanks again to GV for bringing folks like this to the table, and for being an honest and hospitable host…and of course a super big birthday wish to Mom G, who we have to thank for this whole endeavor.
    QOTD: Pinot is amazing in the way it is transparent to terroir, give it the sun and it can go big fruit, keep it wet and cool and it be rotting earth. It's hard to get pegged to a style, as I am fascinated by the variety of expressions: bottles that get hand delivered back from Burgundy, Willamette volcanic fruit eruptions, austere Austrians, and even fine finger lakes…
    Cheers.

  • theDude

    All you punks that are dissing the guest need to get some help! I watch this show because I want to see REAL people that are involved in the REAL wine world!

    I don't want a glitzed up, pre-scripted, studio edited, over produced TV show! I can watch that sh** all day long! I'll take Toby Hill as a guest over that any day!!!! Besides, GV has more personality than one show can handle anyway!

    Happy B-Day Mrs V!

    QOTD: No wine this week. Crown Royal Reserve…straight up!

  • GFish

    GV – Good show even though it seemed like Toby was a little uncomfortable.

    QOTD – My palate is all over the place. I am really liking wines that are well balanced and have quality fruit to them. Europe, South America, Australia, New Zeland, and of course the good old USA. For pinot the 2008 Oregonians are really good, Volnays, Chambolle-Musigny, some (but to a lesser extent) Californians I like. But I have also really gotten into spaprkling wines since last fall. They are in a whole other league of wine, and it's spectacular.

    GFish – Peace and Jets!!!

  • Illegal_Formation

    I don't drink much Pinot, but the other night I had Wagtail, I think an '07, and really enjoyed it. It is from Australia, but seemed more Old World to me. Anyone ever have it?

  • Grill Factor

    Heading into the autumn here in Australia – back in to the beautiful Coonawarra Cabs!

  • SF BAY SWIMMER

    Just getting back to the shows after a few weeks on jury duty here in SF. What a great show as I love Anderson Valley though getting there induces some mild bouts of car sickness. My palate has been changing as I attend more tastings focusing on the Rhone and Burgundy. I stop off at K & L for their Saturday tastings and they throw out some serious knowledge. I had been buying wine at Trader Joe's but have found some of their offerings too one dimensional and find I can always find winners even at the same prices at K & L. I've been fortunate to have jury duty near the SF flower market so I've been picking up on a lot of the flower fragrances that you mention when describing the nose on wines.

  • Grill Factor

    Was it an '07 or '08? The Wagtail '08 is actually really cheap here in OZ, probably one of the cheapest pinots on the market, so if it is decent that would be great. Let me know if you can verify the vintage. Cheers

  • waynoooo daaaaa winoooo

    Yo Guys, COOOOOOOOOOOOOOL EPISODE, Moooooooochoooooooo Thaaaaanx !!!!!!!!!

    qotd: Me Palate NOW ?? California & Oregon Pinot Noirs, Alsace & German Rieslings,
    California Chardonnay, French, California & Australian Bubblies, Alsace Gewurztraminers,
    ta name a few……………………………………………

  • waynoooo daaaaa winoooo

    Ooooooops, Can't forget California Viognier !!!!!!!!!

  • dsallen

    QOTD: Just turned 23 and trying everything I can afford to get my hands on, so my palate is not real sure of itself yet.

  • waynoooo daaaaa winoooo

    RIIIIIIIIIIGHT OOOOOOOONNNN, theDude !!!!!!!!!!!! You tell it LIKE IT IS !!!!!!!!!!!

  • Illegal_Formation

    I'm fairly sure it was an '07, but it was at a restaurant, so I can't verify. As I said, I'm not much of a Pinot guy, but I thought it was surprisingly earthy. If that's your thing, I say roll the dice.

  • Gary,
    Another great show, and your guest Gary reminded me of an artist from beginning to end. A little distracted, seemed like he was lost in thought many times. He wanted to play drums on your table really badly. He obviously is more concerned about the finished product then how he got there, if that makes any sense.
    I have found that my palate is seeking out very bright wines at this time. Wines with good acidity that drives the fruit flavors like a beam through the palate. Maybe it is because I am looking forward to bbq ribs and grilled steaks soon to come. A local winery here in Washington state released a red wine that could peel that paint off your house and I love it! It is always weird to me how the palate changes and many times it has to do with our current diet. Anyway, nice to hear an artists perspective on wine making. Keep up the good work Gary and Happy Birthday to your mom.

  • theDude

    Rock on WDW!!

  • Randall

    I second the motion!! How many people are completely comfortable “under the gun”, as it were? My guess is… not too many. ;} p.s. Since I'm in Sactown, I'm hoping I can get my hands on somodat!! Ring Of Fire!! Great name, Toby… Volcanos, Johnny Cash…

  • waynoooo daaaaa winoooo

    I Fell iiinn to da Buuuurrnin' Ring or FIIIIIIRRRE, YEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAW !!!!!
    LOOOOOOOVVVED OL' JOHNNY !!! Dwight Yoakum toooooooo !!!!!!! :O)

  • castello

    it'sspelled vognerrrrrrrrror maybe VVVVIIIIIIIIOnnnnnnnnnnyeaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

  • castello

    Can you name a couple we can get in California?

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