2019 Bergström Pinot Noir Winery Block

Shimmering ruby. Powerful red and blue fruit liqueur, potpourri, incense and mocha scents, plus hints of cola and exotic spices. Alluringly sweet and energetic on the palate, offering intense black raspberry, boysenberry, spicecake and lavender pastille flavors supported by a core of smoky minerality. Polished tannins frame and shape a mineral-driven finish that lingers with strong persistence and mounting sweetness.

Medium ruby, the 2019 Pinot Noir Winery Block has a core of wild berry fruit on the nose and singular accents of wild mint, jamón ibérico, star anise and graphite. The medium-bodied palate is loaded with generous fruits and finely textured tannins, finishing with persistent savory layers.

Slightly purpler pale garnet than the Spirale. Just 1.3 acres were planted in 2002 to 2005 at 400 ft 'as densely as we dare, and farmed entirely by hand'. 5,000 vines per acre in a nod to Josh's wife Caroline's Burgundian roots. The Bergströms write 'the Winery Block Vineyard is more a bonsai garden of vines than a traditional vineyard'. Adjacent to Silice on a south-facing slope. 100% whole cluster. Pale ruby with a transparent rim. Complex, serious, layered nose. This is gorgeous! Rich but not sweet and very intense with suitable freshness on the finish. Very pure indeed even if there are some slightly dry tannins lurking underneath. I'd pay a premium of much more than $5 for this rather than Le Pré du Col 2019. (JR)