“Single vineyard estate wines has always been the dream.”

Mason Vineyard Estate Wines


2023 ‘One Barrel Allocation’ Pinot Noir

Winemaker: Kelly Mason
Varietals: 100% Pinot Noir, Clone 115, 667, 777
Vineyard: Mason Vineyard
Viticultural Appellation: Twenty Mile Bench

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Pick Date: October 4th, 2024
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Fermentation: Wild Ferment
Ageing: French Oak, Burgundy barrels, 17 months in mainly neutral oak with use of second and third fill barrels.

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WINEMAKER JOURNAL: When wine first goes to barrel for élevage, the winemaker’s job is simply to let it rest. For this block, that rest lasted 16 months. And even with experience of the site, even knowing my coopers and barrel choices, there’s always an element of the unknown — each vintage brings its own variation. Traditionally, I’ve blended all the barrels from this block together. However, when I began blending in early 2025 for 2023 The Matriarch, two barrels stopped me in my tracks. They reminded me of the 2015 vintage off my farm — the very first time I was able to both grow and make Pinot off my vineyard. Tasting these two barrels was like stepping back in time.

The wine moved me. Earthy, bright acidity with dark fruit, and always the cherry notes that mark this block — but the texture was different. Slightly silky, already showing a quiet confidence. My first thought was: I wish I could just put these two barrels straight into a bottle.

At first, I planned to keep a few bottles for myself — sharpie on the glass, tuck them away in the cellar, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized: if I didn’t share it, I’d always regret it. Was it the most business-savvy decision? Probably not. Small lots come with extra costs and complexity. But wine isn’t always about business — sometimes it’s about following that instinct, that tug that says, this deserves to exist on its own.

So, I went with it. I split those two special barrels in half and made a single barrel’s worth of this wine. A tiny lot, but one I couldn’t ignore.

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NOTES:

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TASTING NOTES: Kelly will fill these in and can go into the hidden page and edit. Just leave me some space please.

PRICE: $75

“A wine should express the land where it’s made.”