2021 Antica Terra pinot noir Botanica
2021’s warm season, bathed in light, gave rise to both red and white wines with an unprecedented alliance of drama and precision. These are heady, expansive offerings with billowing aromatics and terrific depth at the core.
Botanica is an expression of the fecundity and fertility of the flora of this place. It tends towards sappy, sanguine, with a taste of wild rose, sour cherries, and blood orange. It is tempting to define it solely by its compelling texture and lush personality, but there is a structural element that is equally striking. This balance between extraordinary concentration and pronounced tension is the essence of the wine.
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2014 Lillian syrah
The Lillian wines reflect an acceptance of gifts that come with the sun — abundance, intensity, and depth of character — while seeking to illuminate the refined detail and subtleties in between. Energetic and vivid in the glass, the 2014 syrah offers tremendous aromatic intensity and freshness to play off the dark syrah fruit, its precision and delineation balances its true gravitas.
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2020 the Glories no.04
One of a limited edition of wines that explore the interplay of chardonnay and roussanne across five variations and three vintages, the Glories no.04 is everything light. Ripe white peach and juniper berries in a lightly toasted frame. The peach evolves after the first sip to an experience: sitting down with ripe persimmons for Hoshigaki preparation. The sugars dripping onto your hands while you peel the bitter skin, not daring to wash your hands lest you lose the sensation too soon. You resist eating the fruit right then and there, knowing what they will become with time if you’re patient. The same hesitation can be respectful with this wine, but you won’t want to wait. We want this wine a bit too cool on a bright, warm day. On the nose: ripe Asian pear and honeysuckle invite you in while the palate offers the succulence of cherimoya, finishing with a suggestion of flint and beeswax, as if you just lit a candle and you can still smell the match.
39% Oregon chardonnay | 61% California roussanne