Coming from a vineyard that lies within sight of the Pacific Ocean, the 2012 Pinot Noir Solomon Hills is a pretty, perfumed and elegant Pinot Noir that offers plenty of rose, violets and spice to go with light raspberry and red berry fruit. As with just about all of these 2012s, it has medium-bodied richness, vibrant acidity and a seamless, lightly textured profile on the palate. Picking up a slightly salty mineral-like quality with time in the glass, it’s an outstanding effort that will drink nicely for 5-6 years. This was a mammoth tasting with winemaker Adam Tolmach and assistant Fabien Castel. While I had a number of these shipped to my office in Colorado (where I was able to follow the wines for multiple days), there were still upward of 30 bottles to taste through when I showed up at the estate. Adam continues to pull in his harvest dates, and in a number of cases, has released two cuvees from each vineyard, one harvested early (the Special Bottling) and one harvested later, which is still on the early edge. I have mixed feelings about the new style here, and while these early pick dates give his wines beautiful tension, acidity and energy, it comes at the expense of texture and richness, and the wines have a sappy, resinous, if not green, character that won’t be for everyone. Nevertheless, there are certainly some outstanding wines here. Tel. (805) 649-1674; www.ojaivineyard.com