2021 Lester Pinot Noir

Appellation: 100% Santa Cruz Mountains

pH: 3.60

TA: 6.95

Oak: 38% New French Oak

Where to start with the Lester Vineyard?  This is one of the most exciting vineyards we have sourced in a long time.  An ideal combination of terroir, meticulous farming, and incredibly knowledgeable ownership, Lester Vineyard is a winemaker’s perfect storm.  Located in the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation of California, the area’s shining star boasts extensive hang time, resulting in about perfect harvest-day chemistry.  The vineyard also expresses a very unique fruit character; hard to describe, easy to identify, and always delicious. Prudy Foxx, the vineyard manager, takes such pride in her work, and it is evident in every single berry we have received from there. Keep an eye out for Lester, we happily managed to secure as much fruit as they would let us, and couldn’t be more pleased with what we have put into bottle thus far.

Fermented at roughly 15% whole cluster, the 2021 is a blend of essentially every Pinot Noir clone grown on the property.  The nose shows sandalwood, complicated fruit, toasty oak, wet soil, and rose petal.  Palate weight is decidedly medium-bodied, with notes of bright cherry and raspberry weaving symmetrically with an inherit fruit elegance typical to this vineyard.  The finish pushes taut acidity and a bit of integrated oak- this is a wine that can move you through a glass dangerously fast.