2018 Poe Wines, Pinot Nouveau, Van der Kamp Vineyard, Sonoma Mountain.
Samantha Sheehan’s Poe Wines Pinot Nouveau is a wine is crafted/made in a Beaujolais Nouveau style, and according to Samantha it is an homage to the idea of celebrating the end of the vintage, and as well as giving a tease of of the upcoming vintage. Sheehan harvested just a couple tons from a Pinot Noir block that was planted back in the 1980s at the Van der Kamp Vineyard, on top of Sonoma Mountain, which is set on the alluvial and mineral rich soils that makes this site so exceptional. It was made from a selection of Mt Eden, Swan, Calera, Martini, and La Tache clones that was all whole cluster that went into a stainless steel tank, and then sealed the lid tightly closed for six weeks, Sheenan explains, that In the absence of any oxygen, the grapes went though an intracellular fermentation, or as we call it, full carbonic maceration. The 2018 is a beautiful version, showing the complexity and purity of vintage, while still being fun and easy to love with a light savory tone holding the fruity nature in check, it shows pretty tart cherry, plum and red berry flavors adding strawberry and just a hint of carbonic cotton candy, tropical and bubble gum and crisp acidity in this vivid light/medium bodied and ruby colored Nouveau. There is more to come with air as the palate refines and gets more Pinot like, it proves California Nouveau is not a gimmick and opens up nicely to become a more complete with floral notes and a dusting of spice and herbs lingering with the fruit essences on the finish. Serve slightly chilled and enjoy with food, it will impress with the holiday fare too, it also highlights the underlying nature of the 2018 vintage which looks exceptional, it whets the appetite for the wines to come. Poe Wines has an amazing set of wines as current releases, these are some of Sheenan’s best offerings to date, I can’t stress enough, you should get on her list and get these new wines, especially her new Sparkling Rosé, which is absolutely outstanding, her Pinot Noir, her Pinot Meunier and her Chardonnay, all of which are studied examples of varietal and place as well as being stellar wines.
($28 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive
