2012 WEIR VINEYARD Yorkville Highlands

Description

The Weir Vineyard in the Yorkville Highlands is located on a south facing hillside of rocky gravely soils at an elevation that ranges between 850 and 1000 feet. Cool ocean air funnels up the Anderson Valley to regulate the ripening of the exceptional fruit from this vineyard.

Our 2012 Weir Vineyard Pinot Noir is highlighted by earthy, smoky notes and is expected to age for a decade or more. A dark ruby color, this youthful and elegant wine is darker and more tightly wound at this point than the 2011. Aromas of rose petal, smoke, raspberry, and cola laced rhubarb fill the glass. Intense bing cherry, ripe raspberry, roasted oats, and smoky flavors coat the palate and carry through on the lingering finish heightened by a mineral element and bright acidity. Enjoyable now, but will reward the patient.

Oak: 100% French oak, 37.5% new oak, 25% once used and 37.5% older.
Clones: Rochioli Pommard, 2A, and DRC
Harvest Dates: October 1-2, 2012
Bottled: August 8, 2013
Alc: 14.3%
Cases Produced: 194

Reviews

• Joe Roberts, 1winedude.com score: A-

  Time & Patience are required to tend this herb, spice & berry garden.

• Affairs of the Vine - Pinot Noir Shootout Silver Medal

  Female: Strawberry and lime aromas lead to a pleasant palate of strawberry with back notes of mushroom. Lovely! 89
  Male: Ripe plum, black cherry, and smoked meats on the nose and in the mouth. Good depth and length. Balanced. 89

• Wine Enthusiast Score: 91

• Wine Spectator Score: 88

  This is marked by a firm, chunky core of cherry and plum-laced fruit, supported by gripping tannins, with a touch of savory herb and loamy earth. Drink now through 2021. 194 cases made. – JL

• Prince of Pinot Score: 91

  14.3% alc., pH 3.68, TA 0.60, 194 cases, $50. Rochioli and “DRC” selection, Pommard and 2A clones. Aged in 40% new, 25% once used and 35% older French oak barrels. · Moderate reddish-purple color in the glass. The nose is initially closed for business, emerging very reluctantly over time in the glass to reveal aromas of Hoison sauce, soy and wet leaves. Mid weight core of luscious black raspberry and plum fruit, supported by balanced tannins, finishing with a thrust of fresh berry joy. When tasted the following day from a previously opened and recorked bottle, the wine had opened up considerably, offering copious fruit and spice aromas and flavors. This wine will require patience and understanding.

• Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar Score: 91

  Brilliant ruby-red. Smoke- and mineral-accented black raspberry and cherry-cola scents, along with a hint of rose oil. Sappy and expansive on the palate, offering bitter cherry and dark berry flavors that become sweeter with air. Shows plenty of heft but comes off energetic and precise, with excellent finishing energy, supple tannins and lingering smokiness. (JR)

• Wine & Spirits Score: 92

  German transplant Andrew Berge sources three selections of pinot noir from Weir Vineyard: Wädenswil and Rochioli, planted in 1991, and a DRC suitcase selection planted in 2000. The wine feels aggressive at first, an inviting waft of forest mushrooms complicated by some volatility and rough, gripping tannins. With air the flavors center themselves around a beam of red fruit, the tannins still brash but conveying a frisky woodland savor. What it lacks in polish, it makes up for in intensity.

Techsheet

2012 WEIR VINEYARD Yorkville Highlands (.PDF)

Out of stock