2016 Home Field Pinot Noir - Raen Winery

Tart bing cherry, oolong tea, wild black raspberry. Candied cranberry, forest floor, squeezed pomegranate. Blooming rose and fragrant lavender, woody stems and coriander seed. Sliced strawberries, blood orange, and mirabelle plums glide daintily through fields of perfumed flowers and evergreen trees absorbing hints of undergrowth and earthy spice at every turn. Sea breeze delicately cuts between matcha and mushroom settling in among porous basalt and volcanic minerals. Featherweight on the palate and remarkably feminine in character with wonderful freshness and crunch; coming in at medium in body with lightly grippy tannin and slightly elevated acidity. This 2016 Home Field Pinot Noir by Raen Winery is an extraordinarily elegant and classic red from Fort Ross-Seaview.

The coolest and most marginal reaches of California are unquestionably putting out some of the Golden State's very best Pinot Noir. This bottling, crafted by Raen Winery using Pinot sourced from their estate vineyard on the extreme Sonoma Coast, reaffirms the immense potential of cold coastal Californian viticulture. Coming from a site located just 2 miles from the Pacific Ocean sitting at around 1400ft of elevation this wine is exceptionally restrained and finesse-driven. It is extremely subtle in a way only great Pinot Noir can be, yet it reveals complex and ethereal magic after careful investigation. While still young and mostly primary in character this wine promises a bright future and has been a joy to experience. We acquired this unique bottle through Tasting Merchants.