2016 Drew Family Cellars, Pinot Noir, Fashauer Vineyards, Anderson Valley.
I had tucked this bottle away, knowing Drew’s 2016 vintage Pinots were exceptionally good and well structured for aging, but I couldn’t resist opening this one and I was even more blown away that I thought I would be with this Fashauer Vineyard coming in with a performance worthy of a top Burgundy! This bottling in Drew’s lineup is pretty rare and limited, so I don’t often get it, which is criminal when they are this good with this 2016 showing off a deep ruby/garnet hue and a sultry mix of earth, spice and floral aromatics along with layers of dark berry, black cherry, plum and Moro orange fruits on the nicely structured medium bodied palate. There’s a real Nuits-Saint-Georges savory thing coming through here with touches of truffle, iodine, cedar, forrest floor, bergamot, and subtle dried roses, flint, black tea, sweet baking spices and a bit of meatiness. The 2016 vintage was pretty firm, dense and chewy when young, and while you can still feel that, there’s an elegance emerging now that is wonderfully compelling too, and on the night this Pinot, made from de-stemmed clones 115 and 667, was absolutely brilliant in every way, and great with food.

Winemaker Jason Drews says the Fashauer Vineyard, which is located on the west ridge of Anderson Valley at 1200ft elevation and 8 miles from the ocean, has ancient soils from the Carbonne-Wohly complex. These are deep well drained soils that are made up of gravelly weathered sandstone and shale from marine origins, that allow for some very intriguing Pinot Noir wines, as seen here in the stunning 2016 vintage from Drew. This mid elevation site on a gentle south westerly slope has, interestingly enough as noted above, just two Dijon selections, with a mix of 115 and 667 clones here. This true cool climate site wine is a real sleeper in Drew’s fabulous collection of offerings, flying under the radar, but I would make an extra effort to keep your eyes open for it and or not pass it up on their mailing list release offer. The Fashauer Pinot Noir in 2016, which was aged in exclusively used, well seasoned French oak barrels, came in at a ripe 13.9% alcohol, but shows beautiful balance, it still has plenty of nice acidity and phenolic grip to impress those Burgundy fans. It’s been a fantastic run of form for Jason Drew, with his 2013 to 2023s all being top notch, in fact I can’t think of a better set of Pinot Noirs over the last decade that I’d rather have!
($70 ESt.) 96 Points, grapelive

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