2018 Pinot Noir Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir - Emeritus Vineyards

Rhubarb pie, plucked rose petal, barely-ripe dark cherry. Wild blueberry, pine needle, spiced pomegranate. Impressively focused yet fragrant wafts of boysenberry, strawberry, and orange peel radiate from a tense and tightly-wound fruit core that is playfully interlaced with gorgeous natural notes of moss, tobacco, and mushroom. Hints of lavender, wildflowers, and hibiscus tea gently enhance aromatics via a range of pretty floral overtones that are further lifted and livened by cinnamon, coriander, clove, and cracked pepper. Impressions of iron and sandy loam expose underlying balanced earthiness before the attack concludes with lightly rugged smatterings of smoke. Astoundingly tart, edgy, and energetic on the palate while simultaneously remaining quite classically styled and restrained; exhibiting a nervy yet heavily nuanced attack that flawlessly marries weightless depth and high-toned complexity. Medium in body with moderate tannin supported by brilliant acidity. This 2018 Pinot Hill Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir by Emeritus Vineyards is an incredibly elegant and age-worthy red from the Sonoma Coast.

Located in the Sebastopol Hills subregion of the Russian River Valley within the larger Sonoma Coast AVA, the Pinot Hill Vineyard is a steep fog-drenched site that is particularly unique as it is one of the only vineyards in the region to be completely dry farmed. This bottling, crafted by Emeritus Vineyards using Pinot Noir sourced from Pinot Hill, showcases the inimitable combination of elegance, depth, and complexity that conscientious farming and a world class vineyard site can produce. While it contains no shortage of aromatic and highly characterful dark and red fruits, this wine boasts nearly Burgundian levels of tension and restraint presented in a way not often seen in California Pinot. Though still extremely young and primary at this stage this is already a sincere joy to experience, and it possesses the structure and drive to age positively for decades. Outstanding.

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