Pinot Noir - Don't Pump It Up Too Much!

A friend of mine who makes wine in the valley once remarked that people try to get too much jammed into Pinot Noir. He maintained that it should be soft, subtle and complex. Too much barrel time, too much extraction for colour creates something not quite Pinot. He dubbed wines
like this "female bodybuilders". They have their appeal but not across the board.
Good advice I think. I try to use seasoned barrels, tight grained French by preference and look to build the wine from clones and yeast selections. I press early. From my experience Pinot Noir is one of the wines that resists rescue attempts in the cellar and is one of the grapes that accurately reflects what happens in the vineyard.

Wish I had shoulders like that!