Hartford Court 2012 Sevens Bench Vineyard Carneros Pinot Noir

91 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar Vivid ruby-red. Pungent aromas of cherry pit, vanilla and beetroot are civilized by a suave floral nuance. Juicy and nervy on the palate, offering zesty redcurrant and bitter cherry flavors that gain sweetness with air. Closes tangy and long, with gentle tannins coming on late. "A grower's dream" is how Don Hartford described the 2012 vintage, "but a winery's nightmare if they weren't ready for the huge crop. If one didn't keep track of how much fruit they were going to get then they didn't have the manpower to process it or enough tanks to hold it," which meant that there was a hugely active market for the selling of excess, high-quality grapes "but not enough wineries equipped to take it." As for his own winery's take on the vintage, he described it as "a great crop, great fruit, beautiful wines," which is a familiar refrain by now. Hartford especially likes the balance of fruit to tannins because it makes the wines "drinkable n