2024 ‘The Matriarch’ Pinot Noir | Unfiltered

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

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Pick Date : September 30, 2024
pH : 3.93
TA : 5.40
Alcohol : 12.6%
Residual Sugar : 0 g/L
Fermentation: Wild Ferment
Ageing: French Oak, Burgundy barrels, 17 months in mainly neutral oak with use of second and third fill barrels.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

WINEMAKER JOURNAL: I’m just dying to tell you about the 2025 vintage, because the harvest and the profile is so top of mind right now. Here’s the thing with 2024, for me, it was one of those Pinot vintages where things went right, which is almost the best we can hope for with Pinot. Give me Pinot that is clean, ripe and any imperfections we’ll sort out. As a reference the pinnacle to this would be Pinot that flies across the sorting table with no sorting – that has only happened twice for me: 2015 and 2025 so yeah, 10 years apart. Sounds about right for Pinot! The 2024 only revealed itself with time in barrel. Easiest wine to blend this year. All barrels went to the blend, except one - I held it back for an additional year of ageing.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

NOTES: I am still in love with this challenging grape. I am seeing it evolve so much in bottle and realizing that we pour it for you in its youth and I wonder how often you taste it with some age? If you have a 2021 still – really tough vintage – you should try it. If you have a 2022, it has evolved beautifully. I can see an amazing opportunity for a vertical from 2020-2025 down the road. The site and winemaking philosophy remain recognizable and all I have to sort out is the vintage effect on the wine. The 2024 is young right now, but trust me, it has potential to be as good as the 2020 with perhaps a little more elegance due to a cooler vintage than 2020.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

TASTING NOTES: Moderately expressive nose showing extreme complexity:  earth, beetroot, leather, smoke, sour cherry, cherry pit, iron, black tea and baking spice.  Bone dry on the palate with electric acidity, robust but suave tannic structure and some serious flavour intensity.  Flavours are tightly correlated with the nose with the addition of game meat, nutmeg and clove characteristics tossed in.  What a profound wine of terroir.  This Pinot is such a focused and eloquent expression of place but is currently coiled tight like a spring.  This needs time to open up and gain a little fat around the mid-section.  Put it away for a couple of years and let it relax.  You’ll be happy you did.

Tasting Notes by Ryan Gibson

PRICE: $60