Pinot Noir, Mount Mary 2021

The 2021 Pinot Noir is aromatic and silky (two obvious qualities I accept). It offers notes of redcurrant, pomegranate, cherry, tobacco, graphite/lead pencil, a hint of poached strawberry and even inflections of sumac. Quince paste is suggested, and quince paste it is. (The power of suggestion is strong, but sometimes it's apt—you've got to be big enough to own up to descriptors that aren't your own.) There are also juicy, ripe, summer strawberries. This is spiced and rich and sits firmly on the mid-palate, but it is supple and succulent also. Cool-feeling tannins shape the fruit in the mouth and draw the wine out over the long finish. It has a super svelte, streamlined shape. The tannins are gently chewy and persist through the finish. This is a lovely wine. It is placid but sure, sapid. No whole bunches contribute to the texture here. It has super fine tannins. Four to six days pumped over, the wine was plunged rigorously during ferment. Generally, it sits on the skins for a couple of days post-ferment (14-16 days in total) and then is pressed. It matured in 25% new oak for 14-16 months. 13.3% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.