Anthill Farms Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2020
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Robert
Parker
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Winemaker Notes
A brilliant ruby color. This wine is just so pretty and lifted upon pouring. Delicious and inviting aromas of dark cherry and raspberry, with exotic floral notes and a subtle wet soil base that transfers to the palate. This selection of the more open and approachable barrels from every Sonoma Coast site has come together beautifully. It is an energetic wine with tons of appeal and delectable length that turns gorgeously floral and spicy over time in the glass. Drink over the next 8 years.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby-purple, the 2020 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast has pretty aromas of roasted cranberries and rhubarb, with tones of forest floor, autumn leaves and soft meaty hints. The medium-bodied palate is soft and grainy, with rounded acidity, a core of spicy fruit and a long finish. Best After 2022
Other Vintages
2021-
Robert
Parker
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Wine &
Spirits -
Robert
Parker
Anthill Farms is an exciting project that focuses on producing exceptional Pinot Noir from a broad range of North Coast vineyards. The properties are managed with intensive and meticulous farming practices, with minimal ecological impact. As for winemaking, there are two unchanging goals: to make wines that express the growing site and the characteristics of the vintage above all else, and to make wines that, simply put, taste good. These goals require gentle handling from crushing to bottling, judicious use of oak, and, perhaps most importantly, leaving the wine alone as much as possible. “We didn’t know whether the name was really great or really dumb,” admits Anthill Farms Winery partner Webster Marquez. “It came about because we’re all winemakers and people would see us all scrambling around trying to grab the same hose at once; they said it was like watching a bunch of ants.” This trio of ants—Marquez, Anthony Filiberti and David Low—met while working at Sonoma’s Williams Selyem. Says Marquez, “We realized that we have the same approach: using Pinot Noir—the most ‘transparent’ grape in the world—to communicate the way vineyards from cooler areas create distinctive wines.” The partners themselves farm many of the small plots where they buy their grapes, and the results of this labor of love are remarkably seductive wines that combine concentration and finesse. Now that the company has grown from producing 200 cases in 2004 to 1,800 this year, the trio’s work is becoming ever more demanding. Notes Marquez, “It’s a good thing we’re young and don’t need much sleep.” –Food & Wine Magazine’s “Most Promising New Winery” 2009
The Sonoma Coast AVA is large in area but, not counting overlapping regions like Russian River Valley, only has a few thousand acres of grapevines—and it’s no wonder. Much of the region is rugged and not easily accessible. Its proximity to the Pacific Ocean’s fog and cool breezes limits the varieties that can be cultivated, but it proves to be an ideal environment for high quality Pinot Noir.
Since fog is a frequent fact of life here, as are heavy marine layers that sometimes bring rain, the best vineyards are wisely planted above the fog line, on picturesque ridges that capture enough sun to provide even ripening. That, with the overnight drop in temperature that reliably preserves acidity, results in fine expressions of Pinot Noir that often receive tremendous critic and consumer praise alike, and are often in high demand.