The Data

Country   USA

Appellation   Santa Rita Hills

Varietal   Pinot Noir

Retail Price   $118

ABV   14.22%

Score   3.5 Stars/88 points

In the Glass

Brilliant, medium ruby color.

The aromatics are intense, offering scents of boysenberry and raspberry with supporting notes of toasted oak, brown baking spices, and mocha.

The palate echoes the nose delivering a red fruit-driven core with flavors of red plum, black tea, mineral, and mushroom. The finish is long and lingering with firm tannins.

Full-bodied and perfectly balanced with a chewy texture.

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. Persey, featured here, is treated in a bit of a rough-and-tumble manner being fermented hot and punched down more frequently. The barrels are rolled out into the sun to heat up and then regularly stirred. Mia is treated far more gently. There is a clear difference to be observed in the glass and it all comes down to your preferences. The wines are in short supply — Sold as a set with its sibling wine Mia.

How to Enjoy

Enjoy now and over the next five years. Decant this wine to experience this wine's full potential. Serve with a pepper-seared duck breast.