2011 Wind Gap Wines Pinot Noir- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (11/16/2012)
12.4% alcohol. Medium dark ruby red. Fairly expressive red fruit aromas. Focused red-fruit on the palate including red cherry, raspberry and a bit of spice. Lingering aftertaste.
From balance-junky Pax Mahle. I probably did this one a disservice, it will undoubtedly improve with 2-5 years in the bottle. A remarkable CA appellation Pinot. I hope this is a harbinger of things to come from the '11 vintage.
I call this serendipity. I wanted my one-bottle allocation of the ancient vine Bedrock Mourved and took this on to fill out a half case. Sometimes things work out. (92 pts.)
The 2011 vintage in the North Coast was an unusually difficult one, featuring a wet and cool spring, cool summer months and rainstorms striking during the traditional harvest period. This sub-$40, 12.4% alcohol appellation pinot gives me encouragement that a lower-sugar vintage will broadly translate into some beautifully delineated, energetic and elegant wines.
Mikey D, holy crap, I just got the box from GSO y/day…you don’t mess around. I saw your note in CT last night as I was putting the bottles into the cellar!
Maybe I will open one of these tomorrow and see what it’s like. Probably easy still to reload some, too.
Frank, I really like what Pax did with this '11 appellation. Similar in style, I think, to some exceptional single vineyard pinots that we’ve shared over the years. I love it when a producer can hit the mark with a reasonably-priced appellation. Let me know what you think!
