The 2010 Pinot Noir Ulises Valdez Vineyard impresses for its superb elegance and pedigree. Dark fruit, flowers, spices and licorice are some of the notes that come together in the glass. The 2010 expresses plenty of the size and volume that are typical of this site, but with more finesse, elegance and delineation than found in the 2009. Mint, licorice and flowers add nuance on the bright, high-toned finish. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025. This is a dazzling set of Chardonnays and Pinots from Paul Hobbs. The wines are made with native primary and secondary fermentations, aged on their lees and bottled without fining of filtration. Readers may want to check out my video interview with Paul Hobbs on www.eroberparker.com for more details. Vintages 2009 and 2010 are both strong, but I find myself favoring the 2010s for their greater verve and focus. Either way, it is virtually impossible to go wrong with any of these new and upcoming releases.Tel. (707) 824-9879

The 2010 Pinot Noir Ulises Valdez Vineyard is tremendous. Not a wine for the timid, the 2010 explodes from the glass with huge dark red and black fruit, spices, flowers, cloves and tobacco. A dark, masculine brooding wine, the 2010 is going to be fun to follow. A big, big wine, the 2010 Ulises Valdez captures the sense of the Russian River Valley in its explosive, exuberant personality. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2018. It is always fascinating to sit down with Paul Hobbs and his winemaker Megan Baccitich, as these Chardonnays and Pinots run the gamut of styles, clones and sites in Sonoma. According to Hobbs, the 2010 harvest was two weeks later than normal, while 2011 was three weeks later than normal! One of the other main differences is that temperatures increased toward the end of 2010, but stayed very much on the cool side in 2011. My impression is that when all is said and done, vintage 2011 will turn out to be superior to 2010 for this range. As always, the Hobbs house style does a very nice job of capturing both textural richness and plenty of site specificity. Tel. (707) 824-9879