I tasted through a dozen Pinot Noir releases from Au Bon Climat, a winery I admire immensely. To put it candidly, eight of the wines were unimpressive. They are correct and generally well-made, but lacking the intensity, complexity, and sumptuous expansiveness one expects from the finest Pinot Noirs. The good news is there are four wines I thought were quite good. The finest among current releases is the 1995 Pinot Noir Isabelle. It possesses a dark ruby color with purple hues. The nose offers up complex, sweet, black-cherry and raspberry fruit intermixed with toasty, smoky oak. The wine is richer than the 1994, with medium to full body, excellent extract and purity, and a long finish. It is the sweetest, richest, and potentially most complex and long-lived of what is undeniably an uninspiring showing from one of my favorite Pinot Noir producers. Tel. (805) 937-9801