Boer is ordinarily our most crowd pleasing, our “easiest” single-site Pinot Noir. This is particularly true in warmer vintages such as 2017, when the grapes richen up during the day, while the cold mountain nights help retain acidity and verve. In a vintage such as 2020 however, the Chalone character comes through even more directly, and here for the first time, a more visceral throughline connecting the Boer appellationally to Antle, just 5000 feet distant, appears more strongly than varietal character. The savory, rocky, roasted quality that reminds many of the Alto Piemonte or even Mount Etna shines through to a degree not experienced in the 2016 or 2017. The 2020 Boer also presents a lovely thought experiment - for those inclined to such diversions - in how to keep one’s ego subservient to the task determining with an open heart and mind, “just what do these grapes want to do to achieve their highest expression?” And now with five vintages under our belt, we can confidently answer: we don’t know. There are at least two very good ways to make Boer. The best option may depend on the vintage. It may not. Maybe Boer always wants to be picked later and sculpted to bring the fruit to the fore; to be big and lush and win popularity contests, while just hinting at its high altitude pedigree. Perhaps we should always pick early, include lots of stems and use more new barrels and keep it in bottle longer before release; default to turning up to 11 its evocation of Chalone, high in the Gabilan Range where tectonics and volcanism have been kissing cousins for 26 million years