2013 Anthill Farms, Pinot Noir, Peter’s Vineyard, Sonoma Coast.
The 2013’s from Anthill Farms are really impressive as a set, with the Peter’s Vineyard itself in particular an amazingly beautiful and finely detailed wine. The Peter’s Vineyard are mature vines from cool hillsides west of the hamlet of Sebastopol in the Sonoma Coast and there always seems to be an elegant and rich Pinot character that makes this offering stand out, and this 2013 shows depth, finesse and length, in fact in a recent tasting it came out on top against a very pricy and well crafted Burgundy that will remain nameless, Anthony Filiberti and the Anthill Farms team have done themselves proud and it should get even better over the next 3 to 5 years. The 2013 Anthill Farms Peter’s Pinot starts with dark berries, rose and violet floral tones, a hint of earth, smoke and mineral leads to a round palate of silky fruits and soft tannins with a vein of bright acidity giving life and lift with a ruby hue in the glass and layers of black raspberry, plum and tart currant backing up a core of morello cherry fruit. There is a sense of grace and poise in this really entertaining Pinot Noir and the background complexity is superb with nutmeg, cinnamon, cedar, saline, cola bean and wild mushrooms adding a nice contrast to the succulent fruit, this is a glorious example of balance in a ripe and forward vintage, with under 14% and subtle wood this is everything you want in California Pinot, drink from 2015 to 2020.
($56 Est.) 93+ Points, grapelive