Description
Anthill Farms, Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
Because of the many extraordinary bottles I’ve consumed, and the fact that the trio of founders met while working at legendary Williams Selyem, I’ve been glued to Anthill Farms for as many years as I’ve been in the business. Sure, culty labels like Kistler, Aubert, Kosta Brown, Sea Smoke, and Peter Michael craft objectively good California Pinot Noir, but at $100-$200+ they’re objectively expensive, too. That’s why instead of splurging for one of those, I’ll opt for a handful of Anthill Farms’ sublime, wonderfully elegant, and explosively perfumed bottlings every single time.
Today’s spectacular 2019 release is a barrel selection of four small, cool-climate sites throughout Anderson Valley. And, given Anthill’s devotion to sourcing sustainably farmed fruit and bottling small-batch wines that evolve in breathtaking fashion over time, it has absolutely no business being this affordable. This wine (really, most of their wines) unquestionably exists in the top tier of California Pinot and, by extension, the Western Hemisphere. Therefore, if you enjoy multi-textural Pinot Noirs driven by finesse, perfume, and verve this will blow the doors off the overwhelming majority of competition. Up to 12 bottles per person.
BONUS OFFER: We also have limited access to a parcel of Anthill’s “Abbey-Harris Vineyard” Pinot Noir for $65, available here. Only four bottles per person until inventory hits zero.
Back in 2003, when David Low, Anthony Filiberti, and Webster Marquez all worked at world-famous Williams Selyem, none of them knew they would quickly establish a friendship and set out to form their very own winery the very next year. Their inaugural vintage yielded just over eight barrels, of which was quickly inhaled by locals. Since then, production has slowly crept upward—while still living comfortably in the “small-batch” territory—but demand has skyrocketed. My first taste came many vintages ago and I was simply enthralled by its savory tension, breathtaking finesse, and site “identity,” which has kept them firmly on my sensitive Pinot Noir radar ever since. Their wines are all about expressing the uniqueness of each small, single-vineyard site and allowing it to shine in the winery with minimal intervention. They are, without any shred of doubt, among the elite contemporary producers of California Pinot Noir.
Today’s Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, which is a cooler-climate appellation in Mendocino County, comes from four vineyard sources located up in the ridges. After harvesting by hand, the site-specific fruit fermented spontaneously and separately, with 50% whole cluster inclusion. Following a one-year maturation in 20% new French oak, they sampled each barrel and married the best of the best to create today’s Pinot Noir. Bottling occurred without fining or filtration.
The only other time we’ve had the great fortune of offering a Pinot Noir from Anthill Farms, I said the following: “If this bottle doesn’t move you then we are on different wavelengths—of course we’re not required to enjoy the same wines but this marks off every descriptor I look for in supremely elegant, top-tier Pinot Noir.” The same can be said today. Given 30 minutes in a decanter, this delivers a stupendous barrage of perfumes like wild strawberry, black cherry, orange peel, damp earth, huckleberry, oolong tea, and spiced plum. The medium-bodied palate provides a soft, svelte frame that’s propelled by a churning core of ripe berries and baking spice with just a hint of crushed minerals on the finish. It’s elegant, lifted, and absurdly delicious. Enjoy your bottles over the next five years. Cheers!
