100% Clone 777 Pinot Noir, alc. 14.9%, $60 retail – for strangers, which
you are not. (Vastly preferable club price via email, with mention of the Secret Password, at the bottom of this post.) The vineyard is extremely
cool-climate and very low yielding, 1.6
miles from the Pacific, above the town of San Simeon; I've had my eye on it for
several years but only picked twice.
This is a very powerful but balanced style of Pinot Noir, both very ripe
and deliciously tart. Denser and riper
than almost any other example of the variety, with very ripe red cherry,
blackberry and pepper, and a moderate amount of once used French oak. The nose is blatantly Pinot Noir; the
structure is rich, full and balanced with minimal tannins. It’s definitely one of the ten best red wines
I’ve made in my thirty years of enological malpractice. I’d be happy to prattle on and on, and may
write a long blog post about the wine, but it’s time to share it: $209/6 bottles, $399/12 bottles, temperature
controlled shipping included. Orders and questions, email me at StillmanB@aol.com
The secret password is: lignification
