Waits-Mast Family Cellars Deer Meadows Vineyard Pinot Noir 2014
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Situated at 1600 feet elevation, with a commanding south-east facing view of Anderson Valley, Rich Savoy’s vineyard off of Deer Meadows Road above Boonville is meticulously farmed in multiple blocks that are planted in a northwest orientation. In the 2014 vintage, we acquired three different clones of Pinot Noir, 115, 777 and Calera, to make just six barrels. Wines of the 2014 vintage are expressive immediately out of the bottle and the Deer Meadows is no exception.
The wine is pale garnet with medium intensity aromas of ripe raspberry, star anise, forest floor and a touch of cedar. Consistently from vintage to vintage, the Deer Meadows displays the complexity and interplay of fruit and earth aromas and flavors. On the palate, the bright acidity is supported by layers of red fruits and Asian spice. The silky tannins give way to the lengthy finish which persists with mouth-filling pomegranate and a hint of cream. Enjoy this wine over the next 3-5 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
The color is on the light side and the appearance is slightly cloudy but that takes nothing away from the interesting flavors of plum, black tea and mint leaves that come with a mild texture, a light body, some good acidity and a sense of reserve in this native-yeast-fermented wine from a consistently excellent winemaking couple.
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Wine & Spirits
Brian Mast and Jennifer Waits first sourced fruit from this hillside vineyard in 2009; planted at 1,600 feet of elevation on a southeast-facing slope above Boonville, it often makes their most energetic pinot noir. This feels like a hillside wine, with a firm, sandstone grip that brings to mind Sonoma Coast wines from further south. It’s a bit chewy, but clean and high toned, with a hint of warmth from alcohol spicing up its aromas of orange zest and rose petals. Give it a few years in the cellar to allow its tannins to integrate.
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Waits-Mast Family Cellars was founded by Brian Mast and Jennifer Waits in 2005. Before they started making wines they were geeky & passionate wine consumers. Many weekend getaways were spent exploring wineries across California and overseas in France, Switzerland and New Zealand.
By 2000, they started attending the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival and exploring the winemaking scene by sitting in on the event’s technical conference. The Pinot Noir immersion that weekend, along with the warm and welcoming wine community of Anderson Valley, prompted them to make the shift from wine geeks to wine producers.
Their first commercial wine, a 2007 Pinot Noir from Wentzel Vineyard in Anderson Valley, was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle Top 100 Wines issue. The wines are featured on wine lists of some of the top restaurants in the country and have been well-received by the press, with inclusions in the San Francisco Chronicle Top 100 Wines of 2014, Wine & Spirits "Year's Best Pinot Noir", and Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 Cellar Selections among others. The wines are crafted in San Francisco with the expertise of our winemaker Shalini Sekhar, who was included in the San Francisco Chronicle's 2019 Winemakers to Watch.
Anderson Valley, located in Mendocino County just above Sonoma County, is one of California’s coolest AVAs, allowing it a long growing season. Only 15 miles long, the region makes a slice eastward through the mountains, from the frigid Pacific Ocean. Dramatic diurnal temperature variations here preserve grape acidity and thus freshness in the finished wines. These are prime conditions for growing Pinot Noir, and the valley produces many fine versions. Characteristics of Anderson Valley Pinot Noir typically include crisp acidity, cranberry and strawberry notes as well as earthy notes of forest floor and mushroom.
Still Pinot Noir, however, is only part of the story. Pinot Noir, along with Chardonnay, are also grown for Anderson Valley’s exceptional sparkling wines. Produced via the traditional method, these offer a classic toasty note from lees aging, bright, complex fruit notes and a clean, refreshing character.