On the 3rd day of the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival, many wineries held open houses. One of those we stopped at included the fine Lichen Estate [formerly Breggo] winery whose Pinot Noir is the only wine I tasted at the Grand Tasting the day prior.
We were greeted royally which was probably due to Burt Williams being one of our 3. Burt deserves and receives a lot of iconic respect from all of the producers in the valley even though he stands back and out of the mainstream of people traffic and is shy to initiate conversation.
Most impressive about this winery was the imaginative, creative juices running through their current releases, a by-product of the team Lichen has in place. I also like that they have a 100% commitment to organic farming.
The 2 we met on this occasion were Douglas Stewart, winegrower and Dan Rivin, GM and assistant winemaker and they provided us with detailed, informative tastings in their temperature/ humidity controlled barrel room where an appropriate wooden picnic table comfortably welcomed us.
We tasted in order:
2012 LICHEN ESTATE BLANC de GRIS ANDERSON VALLEY- this has to be my first experience with a sparkling Pinot Gris and surprisingly, it was very delightful; it had bright acidity, a smooth and creamy mouthfeel and on the dry side with a dosage of 1.1 g/l which has great appeal to me; most importantly, it was really tasty, refreshing and served as a great palate cleanser to prepare for anything else that follows whether it be food or as in this case, other wine.
2013 LICHEN ESTATE les PINOT NOIR et GRIS ANDERSON VALLEY- an unusual blend of 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Pinot Gris; 10% abv; it does not go through ML and is aged in 80% stainless and 20% Hungarian oak; very light in color, this heavy weight was laden with sweet honeyed citrus and stone fruit notes that zinged the palate with joy and continued pleasure amidst bracing acidity.
NV LICHEN ESTATE SOLERA VOLUME 2 PINOT NOIR ANDERSON VALLEY- made in the style of Sherry/ Madeira from multi vintages [2011-2013], it comes in at 13.8% abv; sweet and tasty, this has some spiced cherry fruit forwardness that prevails throughout while being delivered in a silky texture; it is quite different and very pleasing for my palate.
NV LICHEN ESTATE SOLERA VOLUME 2 PINOT NOIR ANDERSON VALLEY [barrel sample with 9 months age]- this had more of everything in the “regular” bottling along with a heavy dose of oaky notes; I got that it can get to a place that this will be a winner as well.
2012 LICHEN ESTATE PINOT NOIR ANDERSON VALLEY- coming from the stellar vintage of 2012, this was made from 7 year old vines containing Martini, Pommard, 667 and Wadenswil clones; 13.7% abv; this had already assumed some semblance of balance and gave up some very nice spicy, talc flavored red cherry/ berry fruit; elegant and light on its feet; obvious oaky notes showed up with integration expected.
2013 LICHEN ESTATE PINOT NOIR ANDERSON VALLEY- coming from the same source as the 12`, this was pretty fine as well although it definitely needs some time to evolve and come together; on this occasion, it was quite fruit laden with lightly sweetened black cherry, black raspberry and black currant accented with a touch of wood spice; it had bracing acidity which should insure longevity while it is maturing at which time, it should be delightful; this is a must decant presently; 13.7% abv.
I`m very impressed with this winery and the treasures it is serving up. No doubt, some of the blends are very creative. Their estate vineyards are very young, developing and promising. Look for them to be a major player down the line if not already.
Cheers,
Blake