William noted that many had great acidity, which gave them freshness, and he felt that many of the wines were enjoyable with food, or on their own.
Our top bottle was the 2016 Hacienda Secoya from Ceritas, which is better know for its wines from the Sonoma Coast and Santa Cruz Mountains. The husband-and-wife proprietors, John and Phoebe Raytek, have a talent for finding vineyards that allow them to make subtle, nuanced wines. This bottle is structured and precise, from the Deep End of Anderson Alley, as the cool northwestern corner is known.
Our No. 2 bottle was the lively, floral 2016 Filigreen Farm from Donkey & Goat, based in Berkeley. Jared and Tracey Brandt, another husband-and-wife team, are more likely to be making blends or wines from esoteric grapes than they are Anderson Valley pinot noir, but this one, their first pinot from Filigreen, is superb.
The third of our top wines was the earthy, precise 2016 Savoy Vineyard from Peay, a family operation better known for wines from its Sonoma Coast estate. While pleasantly fruity, the Savoy had just enough alluring extra elements — an herbal edge, a touch of minerality — to make it interesting.
The next rank included the homegrown 2015 Fog-Eater from Drew, bright, energetic and crunchy; and the lively, refreshing 2015 La Selva from Lioco, which is better known for its Sonoma wines, but seems to be making a greater commitment to the Anderson Valley.
At No. 6 was the balanced, lively 2015 Les Voisins from Copain, another Sonoma-based winery. Since this wine was produced, Copain was purchased by Jackson Family Wines, and its founder and winemaker, Wells Guthrie, has left to pursue other projects. But he made this wine, and it shows his typically light touch.
The Copain was followed by the subtle, complex 2016 Les Larmes from Littorai, which specializes in pinot noirs and chardonnays from the Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley. Les Larmes is a blend from several different vineyards, and so something of a less expensive introduction to the single-vineyard wines more typical of Littorai.
