2015 Rivers-Marie Bearwallow Vineyard Pinot Noir

We can’t tell you how excited we are to offer this first
Bearwallow wine to you.  When Kevin
Harvey at Rhys wrote to inquire as to whether we might want to buy some fruit
from his estate vineyard in Anderson Valley, it took us a few minutes to digest
the idea of venturing outside the Sonoma Coast. 
Once the lunacy of our reservation set in, I immediately emailed him
back and told him we’d take everything he’d sell us.  This wine comes from one of the blocks Kevin
and his team planted after acquiring this parcel in what’s known as the “deep
end” of the valley.  Our first version is
a bruiser.  Similar to the Occidental
Ridge bottling, there’s plenty of fruit tannin in this wine.  The grip comes on early but is buffered
quickly by high-toned fruit components of dark cranberry, cherry and
pomegranate.  There’s a slight smokiness
to the palate as well.  None of the
rusticity of some of the older Pinot plantings in Anderson Valley comes through
in the wine but it does have a wild berry, briary quality to the flavor.  Not knowing exactly what to expect, I’d say
we are elated with this first offering but do believe it will be a wine that
needs some cellar time before completely unwinding.  I personally like the muscle in this and see
a long life ahead for this wine, and hopefully also, our relationship with the
team at Rhys as well.