2015 Waxwing Wine Cellars, Pinot Noir, Lester Family Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains.
Scott Sisemore’s Lester Family Pinot is a boutique offering from his Waxwing Wine Cellars label, it’s a concentrated yet vibrantly fresh wine with racy acidity and tangy fruit, but gains weight with air turning into a fine example of this region. Waxwing is really making some great stuff, and I’ve long been a fan of Scott’s wines, I highly recommend joining his list and getting a chance at his limited offerings, especially his tiny production Pinot Noirs which he sources from sites in the Sonoma Coast and the Santa Cruz Mountains, from cool climate vineyards. This Lester Family Vineyard Waxwing Pinot, grown near Corratitos, is a mix of modern Dijon (667 & 115) clones, starts with tangy brightness, delicate floral tones and zesty red fruits before filling out on the palate with black cherry, tart plum/cranberry, vine picked raspberry and blood orange fruits along with a hint of toasty oak, mocha and snappy herb/spice. This two barrel cuvee (only 50 cases made) 13.5% Pinot was 50% foot stomped whole cluster and aged in 1yr French oak and was fermented with the Assmannshausen yeast in open top vats/bins. There’s a lot to admire now, but this medium bodied Pinot looks set to gain with more time in bottle, 2015 was a tiny crop and there’s a ton of energy in this vintage that should add to the thrill over time, look for a more satiny mouth feel and length to show up within another year or so. If you can’t wait I would suggest food and a soft decanting to get the best out of this very nice Pinot Noir. Waxwing’s Rose and Pet Nat Riesling are also fun wines, and Scott’s Syrah is also well worth the price, this boutique micro craft winery based in south San Francisco, or Belmont, is cool and deserves a look, check them out!
($47 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive
