Winemaker Notes
The Wendling Vineyard holds the distinction of the most north westerly site in the Anderson Valley appellation. Sitting in the deepest end of the valley on a 450ft slope with superior drainage; there are three soil types, namely Ornbaun, Wolfey and Bearwallow complexes. These well drained hillside soils along with the cooler coastal temperatures provide for low to moderate yields, giving a darker and intensely structured Pinot Noir. Dark red and blue fruit notes with black trumpet mushroom and sage. The mineral notes and firm acidity scream coastal hillside vineyard.
Professional Ratings
-
Vinous
The 2019 Pinot Noir Wendling Vineyard is totally beguiling. High-toned aromatic, mid-weight structure, silky nuanced and super-expressive a wine of tremendous allure and deceptive beauty. Not totally immediate as most wines are in this range, but rather a Pinot that demands the full attention of the taster.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Extreme ripeness and concentration make this a big, bold wine despite its medium body. It shows black-currant and black-cherry aromas, attractive, clean and slightly tangy black-fruit flavors and a nice touch of tannin.
-
Wine & Spirits
Ripe tannic density comes first in a sense of compacted cherry skins, then this wine evolves to open and airier flavors of cherries and blackberries. It’s clean and fresh, with salty acidity that would take on Mediterranean grilled lamb with olives.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Essentially a northern extension of the Sonoma Coast AVA but part of Mendocino County, Mendocino Ridge is one of the rare appellations defined by elevation only. The Mendocino Ridge AVA is reserved only for vineyards at or above 1,200 feet between the Anderson Valley and Pacific Ocean.