Family Farm Vineyard, Pinot Noir, 2019
A beautiful set of aromatics here, from rose to freshly brewed Assam tea leaves to cherry and Szechuan peppercorn, and it is so expressive with it. The palate has an immediate hit of sweet fresh cherry before loamy earth, mint and sage notes take over. Beautifully pliable, succulent tannins here. Green olive skin, blood orange rind and wild thyme on the finish make this a fascinating wine, both intriguing and delicious already; the best Family Farm we’ve tasted by some way.
critic reviews
The 2019 Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard is similar to Anderson Valley's Bearwallow site, providing an accessible entryway into the Santa Cruz Mountains vineyard designates, particularly in this vintage. The nose displays the dark, cake-like concentration typical of this site but melds it with beautiful, lifted floral aromas. Fabulously juicy and succulent on the palate, the finish is propelled by balanced acidity rather than burly tannin, further cementing this wine to begin drinking before the rest of the range.
The 2019 Pinot Noir Family Farm is bright, forward and seductive, as it so often is. Sweet floral aromatics meld into a core of red/purplish berry fruit, blood orange and star anise. In 2019, the Family Farm has an exotic quality that is hugely appealing. The 2019 was done with all destemmed fruit (a first for this wine) and aged mostly in neutral oak.