Birichino Antle Pinot Noir 2016 (1500ml)

Chalone. The breathtaking Antle Vineyard, located in the Chalone AVA in Monterey County, is 548 metres high in the Gavilan Mountains. Its an organically farmed, northwest-facing vineyard near the east entrance to the Pinnacles National Park and looks out over Monterey Bay. Planted to a clonal mix of Pinot Noir (Chalone 46, Pommard 4 and Dijon 114), the sites steep slopes are dense with chalk from an uplifted ancient seabed and decomposing granite.

The winemaking for all three single-vineyard Pinots in this shipment is basically the same. The grapes were hand-picked at night, destemmed and sent to small, open-top steel vessels for natural fermentation. Approximately 40% of the ripest stems are added back and layered through the ferment. The wines were then raised for 12 months in a mixture of older oak casks, from barrique to 500L and 600L demi-muids. They were all bottled without filtration.

We dont have a review for this wine, so we will rate it ourselves: A slinky, intensely aromatic mountain Pinot with flavours of candied rose, raspberry fruit and savoury spice backed up by supple tannins and vibrant acidity 93 points! Being a little more serious, its a beautifully poised, long and layered Pinot, hitting its sweet spot. We think it captures the wild beauty of the Chalone highlands.