2018 Concept Album Pinot Noir Anderson Valley Mendocino County 750 ml

Elk, California. “Good wine stops time.” 

We were seated in the redwood-lined dining room of Michelin-starred Harbor House when JH, the acclaimed (and eccentric) winemaker behind the 2018 Concept Album Pinot Noir, spoke those words. With a view of the rugged Mendocino coast in front of us and the wildly aromatic, red-fruited 2018 in our glasses, we could only nod in agreement as the moment seeped deep into our bones. 

To secure this small lot of coveted Pinot Noir and deliver it at a discount, we had to agree not to divulge its esteemed Anderson Valley source or the identity of JH. 

What we can say is that this wine comes from one of the region’s Top Five Vineyards according to Wine Enthusiast, a Robert Parker favorite known for “world-class quality.” It’s where icons like Littorai, Radio-Coteau, and Adrian Fog go to source their Pinot Noir, and this bottle should be $70, or twice that at a white-tablecloth restaurant. 

Concept Album Presents: Pinot Noir 

Drive about 30 minutes inland from Elk on Philo Greenwood Road, and you’ll get to Anderson Valley. Just before you arrive, you’ll pass Hendy Woods State Park, an old-growth redwood forest dotted with towering giants 300 feet tall and 1,000 years old. Anderson Valley possesses an untapped primal beauty, and is a haven for Pinot Noir, which thrives in the blustery winds and ancient gravelly soils. 

Over a year before our dinner at Harbor House, we met JH in the “deep end” of Anderson Valley—the westernmost section, where the influence from the Pacific is greatest and Pinot Noir develops incredible freshness. When we pulled up to the vineyard it was 10 a.m., and the morning fog was still lingering in wisps amongst the vines. It was perfectly quiet and absolutely majestic. 

“Runnin’ with the Devil”

Slowly, we began to hear the sound of tires climbing the gravel hill to the vineyard. Then the sound of a guitar from a car stereo. Finally, the unmistakable voice of David Lee Roth belting out “Runnin’ with the Devil” as JH came into view, driving an old Jeep Wrangler with the windows down. He hopped out, grinning, and gave us a sturdy handshake. “This is one of my favorite places in the whole world,” he said. “Glad you guys could make it.” 

Over the next hour, we walked the vines, learning about the more than 30 sub-blocks that make up the vineyard, each of which is managed individually to coax the very best out of every vine. “You taste what you see here,” JH told us. “Super site-transparency. That fog over there? Keeps the fruit cool and acids high, adds brightness to the strawberry notes. And the wild herbs and flowers you see growing everywhere? Mint and violet, right in the glass.” 

“Eruption” 

That first visit to the estate ended with JH rumbling off in his Jeep, car stereo blasting once again. It would become a familiar sight over the next year as we watched the 2018 Concept Album Pinot Noir go from vine to bottle. 

During the harvest of 2018, fruit from the vineyard was hand-picked at night to preserve freshness. Fermentation in steel tanks allowed the mix of dark cherry, raspberry, and strawberry flavors to showcase stunning purity, while the inclusion of a few whole clusters added complexity—forest floor and porcini mushroom—as well as tannic structure. Gravity-fed to a mixture of new and neutral oak barrels, the wine is kissed with notes of brown spice and toast, and polished to a plush perfection.

“Everybody Wants Some!!” 

Our dinner at Harbor House took place this past January, when the 2018 Concept Album Pinot Noir was finished and bottled, but not yet labeled. JH was doling out hefty pours from shiners while we marveled at the Pacific Ocean in front of us. The finished wine was silky and luxurious, brimming with luscious fruit and a velvety texture that spoke to its pedigreed, estate-grown origins. 

It was a stunning Pinot Noir—the perfect follow-up to the show-stopping Sonoma Cabernet that would soon kick off Concept Album’s release (and subsequently skyrocket to a top-five Wine Access member rating, alongside Bollinger and Vega Sicilia). As JH so eloquently put it, “If Cab is king, Pinot Noir literally doesn’t care.” 

“You Really Got Me” 

After all he had delivered, JH still had one last gem for us. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a small, white envelope. Opening it carefully, he revealed an old concert ticket, fading and yellowed. “June 20, 1987,” JH said aloud, “Van Halen and Rush. This was the first show I ever went to, and I’ll never forget it. Those guys made time stand still—they pulled you in, pulled you together, and made sure you never forgot it. As a winemaker, my goal is the same. So what if we make this ticket into the wine label?” 

“Done!” 

The exact replica of that 1987 concert ticket now graces the front of the 2018 Concept Album Pinot Noir, an ode to the irreplicable magic of the moment. 

“Right Now”

More than an incredible value or a series of accolades, the 2018 Concept Album Pinot Noir is an experience. It contains the majesty of the ancient redwood forests and the starry Anderson Valley skies, the gusts of the Pacific Ocean, and the fruit of meticulously tended Pinot Noir vines. Somewhere deep down it even contains a few kernels of inspiration from Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth. As with the best experiences, it’s meant to be shared, and if you serve it to some good friends along with some good food, it will stop time just like that concert in 1987. Try it and see.