Recent Love From Wine Advocate

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate just reviewed our 2019s and 2020s.  It took awhile, because the reviewer wasn't able to visit during Covid and I had to ship her the wines instead, which didn't get tasted quickly.  So we're sold out of them... but... if you happen to have any of the following, you'll be pleased that you still have them:

2019 Split Rail Pinot Noir:  95 points.
2019 Lester Pinot Noir: 95 points.
2019 Ananda Pinot Noir: 94 points.
2020 Lester Pinot Noir: 94 points.

The critic, Erin Brooks, classified all of these as "young" and suggested drinking windows from 2023 - 2033 (!).

I'm feeling really happy about all of this... because I whole-heartedly believe that the 2021 vintage is far better.  This all bodes very well.  

Here's the thing about scores:  oftentimes too much emphasis is placed on individual scores for wines. Some jackasses even jack-up their prices of a wine that gets a good score.  Melanie would have called those people "shit weasels". Where scores matter is when you see a pattern over time.  To me, this points at consistent quality that a consumer can trust.  This new year marks 10 years where every Pinot Noir we've ever submitted for review (for myself or for my clients that I make wine for) has scored 90-96 with at least one of the major international critical publications (Advocate, Enthusiast, Spectator, Wine & Spirits).  Humble brag, simply saying... I'm proud not so much of the scores, but of the fact that the consensus among critics is that things are consistent and the wines are hopefully not ever disappointing.  I care so much about the quality of my wines.  It's an absolute obsession, because I care about the trust bond:  when you purchase a bottle of my wine, you're trusting me to deliver something high-quality.  

I never want to betray that trust.

Happy New Year, and we'll see you next year!