94 Points                                   
Another beautiful small-production Pinot Noir from Walter Hansel who continues to make a small amount of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay down the road from Kistler, at unbelievably sane prices.  Limited.

93 Points Jeb Dunnuck: "The Walter Hansel 2022 Pinot Noir Cuvee Alyce is a deep magenta/purple-tinged hue. A blend of Pinot Noir Dijon Clones 777, 115, and 943 grown on heavier clay soils, it has a spicier profile, with notes of black pepper, blackberries, lavender, and pine. Medium-bodied, it’s rounded and fills the palate with a generous feel, and it has darker earth notes and smoky incense on the finish. It’s going to show well over the next 6-8 years."

93 Points Vinous: "The Walter Hansel 2022 Pinot Noir Cuvée Alyce shows the riper side of the year in its flavor profile, textural breadth and overall feel. Succulent dark cherry, plum, lavender, menthol and cloves fill out the layers, while polished tannins wrap it all together in style. For the first time, the blend includes some 943 Clone to complement the traditional mix of 777, 115 and 114 used in this bottling."

...Some of the best values in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir emerge from Stephen Hansel’s winery in the Russian River Valley. He also has the wonderful Walter Hansel Wine & Bistro on Guerneville Road in Santa Rosa. Hansel reduced the crop size by 20%-30% through crop thinning in 2014 because of irregular berry size and improved the level of concentration. All of the Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs are bottled unfiltered."

Alyce was Stephen Hansel's Mom and she was the life of the party. There is a section of vineyard right in the middle of the North slope where the soils are very heavy adobe clay resulting in the vines struggling to produce a crop more than 1 ton to the acre. It is a field blend of clone 777 and 115. This minimal crop yield tends to produce wines that are big, rich, "over the top" flavors; perfect for "Alyce."