2010 Anthill Farms Pinot Noir Campbell Ranch Vineyard

The 2010 Pinot Noir Campbell Ranch is gorgeous. Sweet floral notes meld into savory herbs, mint, licorice and dried red cherries. An exotic, beguiling wine, the 2010 is pure nuance and delineation. Sweet and intensely perfumed through to the finish, the 2010 is a wine of extraordinary delicacy and nuance. The 2010 was made with 40-50% whole clusters. Readers should not miss out on this sensational effort. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2022. This is another set of gorgeous wines from Anthill Farms. Proprietor Anthony Filiberti comments that 2010 was a challenging growing season. A cold, wet spring resulted in an irregular flowering, which lowered yields and left the plants with grapes and clusters in varying stages of development. The only way to achieve full ripeness was to sacrifice the fruit that lagged in maturity, which reduced yields even further. These sacrifices paid off, however, and as a result, Anthill Farms produced a fabulous set of wines. Filiberti typically uses 40-50% stems and prefers low amounts of new oak. These are some of the most transparent, graceful Pinots being made in California today. Pricing remains quite fair within the context of top-echelon California Pinot. Tel. (707) 385-9396

Full red. Heady, sexy aromas of black raspberry, Asian spices, rose oil and zesty minerals. Brisk and tightly wound, with impressive precision and cut to its lively dark berry and floral flavors. Aeration brings up deeper cherry and licorice qualities as well as more flesh and heft. Impressively concentrated, penetrating and focused pinot with outstanding finishing energy and cling.