"In 2011, as in 2010," relates Ben Casteel of the 2011 Pinot Noir Casteel Reserve, "we found ourselves building this wine around two relatively young blocks right outside the winery that were good, but made pretty rustically phenolic wines in 2007 and 2008 that we didn't feel merited longer barrel time. Then, in 2009, I just assumed we'd gotten them riper and that's why I liked them so much. But here we are in a cool and a cold year building our reserve wine around them. Something changed." One plausible hypothesis is that the roots simply needed to reach a point where the plant could channel the inherent potential of those particular sites. Having relayed all of this, though, I must say that I miss the primary juiciness here that's characteristic of the best 2011s, and I tend to think that is on account of the nearly half new wood reinforcing the material's native tannins. Fortunately, there are both deeply meaty savor and pronounced salinity that serve for welcome stimulation of the salivary glands, which in turn helps one over the roughness of the tannins. Nor do I mean to imply that ripe fruit is lacking; it's just somewhat along the line of dried cherry and cranberry. There is an energetically tart, almost savage intensity to this wine's finish. I'd want to revisit it in a year or two before handicapping its bottle potential, other than to say that the tannins will almost certainly be prominent for the rest of this decade. "They weren't that different, at least in terms of the season" maintained Mimi Casteel and cousin Ben Casteel in amusing tandem when I asked them to differentiate 2011 and 2010, "just the latest harvest on record, and then the next latest on record! And we haven't felt that there is a qualitative difference either. But we were picking in the 12th-13th of October range, with 2010 (whereas) we didn't start picking until the 25th in 2011 and didn't finish until the 11th of November. Our goal was to get 12% natural alcohol and enough extract that the more tannic parts of our vineyard weren-t going to be just tannic." And many Pinots in this 2011 collection got into bottle at or little over 12%, with distinctively delightful results. The fruit was all destemmed and the extractive regimen lightened. After not getting the results they had hoped for in those few 2010 lots to which tartaric acid had been added (out of concern that the wines would fall flat after such high malic converted to lactic), the Casteels performed no acidulation in equally high-malic 2011. "The changing of our barrel regime to lighter toasting, but more turn-over (hence also newness) and different tonneliers has been gradual, but is something we've really worked on" explains Ben Casteel. "When Mimi and I took over in 2005 we didn't want to change anything dramatically because you have an established track record" to consider. A new property, Ingram Lane, has recently been planted to enhance the future volume here, which is still suffering a bit from the loss of Seven Springs after that venerable neighboring site became part of Evening Land. (For more about Bethel Heights consult my Issue 202 introduction.) Tel. (503) 581-2262