2018 Failla Pinot Noir Estate Vineyard
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Tasting notes
Lightish cherry red. Pretty, scented red fruit with a hint of citrus. Gorgeous California fruit sweetness with the counterpoint of compact, gentle tannins. A little bit of alcoholic heat, perhaps because it is otherwise rather delicate. (JH)
Critic scores
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Pale ruby, the 2018 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast opens with some sulfury, tarry tones that slowly dissipate to reveal bright red berry fruits. The palate is grainy, fresh and delicately styled, finishing on an uplifted floral note. It's pretty, but it will need to be decanted. 6,000 cases produced.
Moving to the reds, the 2018 Pinot Noir Estate Vineyard was all destemmed and brought up in 25% new French oak. It's another savory, mineral-laced wine from this team that offers classy red cherry and blackberry fruits, lots of savory herbs and rocky, earthy notes, medium-bodied richness, plenty of tannins, and a fresh, lively texture. It's a beautiful wine, but it needs 2-3 years of bottle age to show its full potential.
The 2018 Pinot Noir Estate is a dark, dense wine. An infusion of blue/purplish fruit, licorice, sage, violet and menthol flows across the palate as the Estate shows off all of its natural power, intensity and character. The Estate is not all forthcoming, as so many wines in this range are. Readers should plan on cellaring the 2018 for at least a few years. Today it is a dark, inward, brooding adolescent.