Bearwallow Vineyard, Pinot Noir, 2019
The complex sandstone and shale Bearwallow Wolfey soils of the Bearwallow vineyard, tucked away at the ‘deep end’ of the Anderson Valley, have produced a Pinot Noir of pure allure in 2019. Sweet red cherry and fragrant incense notes with red berried fruit running through its core and a spine of minerality at the finish. This is at once plump, yet also sumptuous and supple, with a note of wild forest, earth and light black tea on the finish.
critic reviews
The nose of the 2019 Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard is polished and even-keeled, evoking dark berries, wet clay and touches of lilac and rose. The palate is wonderfully seamless and silky, with a pitch-perfect balance between juicy dark fruits, upright acidity and refined, powdery tannins framed with judicious use of new oak. While this is perfectly approachable and delicious now, it will surely gain depth and dimension after 4-5 years in the cellar.
The 2019 Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard is a powerful, searing wine. I am not sure I have tasted a Bearwallow with this much sheer intensity. Black cherry, mocha, gravel, cloves and licorice imbue this somber, backward Pinot with quite a bit of complexity. Readers should be in no rush here. The 2019 is an exceptional Bearwallow.