Maggy Hawk Unforgettable Pinot Noir 2017
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Robert
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Wine Spectator
Complex and deeply flavored, with loamy notes to the dark cherry, plum tart and wild berry flavors, which are broad-textured and robustly spiced. The dense, powerfully structured finish lingers, revealings smoky touches and sanguine richness. Drink now through 2025.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby, the 2017 Pinot Noir Unforgettable, aged in 43% new French oak, opens to aromas of old leather, roasted cranberries, toasted coconut, rhubarb and pomegranate with notes of black cherries, saddle leather and roasted blackberries—this has discernible Brettanomyces character. It's medium-bodied and silky with earthy red and black fruits, juicy freshness and a firm, grainy frame, finishing long. Fans of a more rustic style will enjoy this.
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Robert
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Situated adjacent to the redwoods and one of the last vineyards before one reaches the Pacific, the Maggy Hawk vineyard is located in what many refer to as the “deep end” of Anderson Valley. The vineyard contains a complex patchwork of different facings, slopes and clones, all of which conspire to provide a dazzling array of different Pinot Noirs.
The soil is comprised of decomposed sandstone, known for exceptional drainage and low nutrients, both critical to the development of naturally balanced vines.
As one might expect, yields are controlled by Mother Nature in this setting; in most years, the Maggy Hawk vineyard provides no more than two tons per acre.
Adversity often brings greatness to Pinot Noir, the most difficult of grapes to master. Greatness also arises in champion racehorses, something Proprietor Barbara Banke recognized and celebrates in the gifted Maggy Hawk, a winning thoroughbred honored with this Pinot Noir effort from the deep end of Mendocino’s Anderson Valley, mere moments from the Pacific Ocean.
Each wine in the series is named for a horse born to Maggy Hawk: Jolie, Afleet, Stormin’ and Unforgettable, and to her sire, Hawkster. The unique expression borne of training, bloodlines, site and alchemy applies equally to wine and horses – Pinot Noir and thoroughbreds in particular.
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.”
A unique appellation placed in between the warm, Sonoma County Alexander Valley and the cooler Mendocino County's Anderson Valley, the Yorkville Highlands’ gravel soils are ideal for Bordeaux varieties and other full-bodied reds.