2015 Pinot Noir Tripp's Block Perli Vineyard
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
From the Perli Vineyard in Mendocino, as well as tiny, tiny yields, the 2015 Pinot Noir Tripp's Block offers up darker berry fruits, cranberry, and exotic spice, as well as hints of pinewood/forest floor-like notes. It’s medium-bodied, has bright acidity, and terrific complexity. It too will keep for 5-7 years. This is another brilliant lineup of wines from the Donelan Family, with the wines made by Joe Nielson. While their estate Obsidian Vineyard was lost in the fires last year, they’re already in the process of planning and replanting the site, and I was thrilled to taste through a small retrospective from what’s unquestionably one of the great terroirs in California. Looking at the 2015s, which are by and large the current releases, these are structured, tannic wines that are going to benefit from short term cellaring.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2015 Pinot Noir Tripp's Block is medium ruby-purple colored and gives up notions of black cherries, mulberries and cranberries with hints of underbrush, fungi and mossy bark. The palate is medium to full-bodied with a solid frame of ripe, grainy tannins with just enough freshness and bags of fruit giving way to a long finish.
The 2015 Pinot Noir Tripp's Block is a gorgeous wine, although it needs time in the cellar to shed some of the youthful tannin that is such a signature of this Mendocino Ridge site. Time in the glass brings out the wine's inner sweetness and perfume. Succulent red cherry and plum fruit fill out the wine's layers nicely. The 20% whole clusters are not especially evident. Instead, it is the wine's overall balance that stands out most.