The Data

Country   USA

Appellation   Santa Rita Hills

Varietal   Pinot Noir

Retail Price   $118

ABV   14.18%

Score   4 Stars/91 points

In the Glass

Brilliant, medium ruby color.

The aromatics are pleasingly intense, offering scents of red plum and raspberry with supporting notes of clove and slate.

The palate confirms the nose delivering a red fruit-driven core with flavors of red cherry, pomegranate, five spice, and oak. The finish is long and lingering with silky tannins.

Full-bodied and perfectly balanced with a supple texture — the essence of Pinot.

Cool Factor

We absolutely love the fruit, the unique philosophy, and the choice of winemakers making this wine totally cool.

Value Grade

This Pinot is not designed for mass consumption. It's pricey for sure but fewer than 100 cases are made making it pretty rare.

Analysis

Exprimere is a new wine project with a very interesting premise. At the heart of Exprimere is some exceptional fruit grown at the Peake Ranch in the Santa Rita Hills of Santa Barbara County — a proven Pinot Noir zone. While the wines were unknown to us the winemaker is very familiar. The wines are made by James MacPhail, an award-winning winemaker familiar to every BevX reader via Tongue Dancer Wines. The two inaugural releases of Pinot Noir both hail from the same vineyard and vintage. The difference lies solely in the winemaking choices. Mia, featured here, is treated very gently, being fermented at cool temperature, cap pushed down softly, and reseted in neutral barrels sur lie. Its sibling Persey gets a more vigorous interaction with nature and man. There is a clear difference to be observed in the glass and it all comes down to your preferences — we leaned toward Mia. The wines are in short supply — Sold as a set with its sibling wine Persey.

How to Enjoy

We love this wine with a no-frills grilled skirt steak or maybe an herb-crusted pork tenderloin. Of course, it needs nothing but a glass — decant before drinking to get the full experience.