Going into the holidays, we’ve adorned the shop with some great additions. Over the next couple weeks, I’ll break down our new acquisitions section by section and fill you in on the new bottles. This week we’ll start with the new California Pinot Noirs.
Enjoy:
Anthill Farms, Tina Marie Russian River Valley Vineyard Pinot Noir, 2013 $55.99
Anthill Farms is a project led by a trio of gentlemen who worked together at the famous Williams Selyem Winery. Taking their inspiration from the small vineyards throughout Sonoma and Mendocino, they craft site expressive Pinot Noirs with an eye toward elegance and flavor in purity of fruit. This cuvee from the Tina Marie Vineyard, located in the cool Green Valley sub-region of the Russian River Valley expresses exactly what I look for from this region: some cola and black cherry but also plenty of fresh red raspberry and savory components wrapped up with a silky body. For those of you who have had the good fortune of trying The Withers English Hill Pinot Noir, you’ll be happy to know that the wine-maker from The Withers is also one of the owners of Anthill Farms.
Scribe, Carneros Pinot Noir, 2016 $49.99
This is a perfect example of a low intervention, cool-climate, California Pinot Noir, while light in color can be deep in aromatics and flavor. It was actually a bit of an anomoly to me through the entire bottle. Not only how can something this light and bright can be this expressive and indulgent but also, how rare is it that a winery actually lives up to all of it’s hype and publicity. The ABV of this wine is under control at just a touch above 13% and the finish is long and elegant. The wine sees 6 months in neutral French oak and was fermented with native, wild yeast. This is a soulful and beautiful wine.
Fantesca Estate, King Richard’s Reserve Pinot Noir Russian River Valley, 2015 $129.99
From time to time, Dlynn Proctor – whom you might know from the Somm series of movies – swings by the shop to share with us some wines that he represents. Those of you who made it to our Penfolds tasting last year, surely remember how charismatic and knowledgable Dlynn is. A few weeks ago, he swung by with the wines of Fantesca Estate and Winery. These wines, known for their Chardonnays, red blends, and Cabernets made by the famous and highly acclaimed winemarker Heidi Barret, are incredibly well-crafted and highly nuanced potions of power and grace. The Pinot Noir is no different. How couldn’t it be when the “Queen of Cult Cabernet” is affiliated with it. Tony Arcudi, the winemaker of this particular cuvee, crafted a seemless Russian River Valley Pinot Noir with loads of savory dried herbal aromas, rich berry flavors and lingering vanila notes accompanied by a seemingly endless finish.
Walt, La Brisa Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, 2016 $45.99
Walt is the Pinot Noir side of the heralded Hall Winery of Napa Valley which, like the wines of Heidi Barret from Fantesca, has garnered 100 point scored for her Cabernet Sauvignons. The Walt lineup of Pinot Noirs are not shy; both in terms of their use of new French oak or ripeness in fruit character, they are mouthfilling and robust. I refer to this style of Pinot Noir as Steakhouse Pinot Noir as they can stand up to a steak with it’s deep, plush, and opulent in style. I’ll be craving this wine as we go into the cooler weather and thus heartier cuisine. We only have 6 bottles in stock, so if you’re interested, you might want to move quickly on this one.
Thanks for reading, next week we’ll cover the new Oregon and Washington additions. Hope to see you around the shop soon.
D.