Mission Codename Down to earth
The Erath is GONE - apologies if you missed out. It turns out you’re not just hungry for turkey but also for killer Pinot deals.
Luckily we have a second helping lined up. How about one of the please-may-i-have-another kind. Hope you got some room in a Locker because this deserves at least one spot if not a full case.
“Handley continues to turn out impressive wines at reasonable prices… fruit-driven wines of excellent ripeness, purity, and overall symmetry.” - Robert Parker
Sometimes you get this idea that every wine family is just rolling in Scrooge McDuck type money. That it’s all Champagne showers and Merlot manicures by the pool.
But really a lot of these small winery owners are just regular people. Farmers trying to make it with their families. People who decided life as an accountant or sheepherder wasn’t for them.
Lulu Handley was one of those people. An actual farmer/homesteader in fact. She and her husband moved from Maine back to her family’s farm in 2016 to carry on the winemaking legacy her mother, Milla had started in 1982. Today they continue making high-quality, small-production wines that you won’t find in big supermarkets or box stores.
But you’ll find this crushingly good Pinot from us, at a steal of a price.
This comes entirely from the Lost Creek Vineyard in the Yorkville Highlands, next door to Anderson Valley, and it sets a high standard. Silky and warm, round and satisfying, it’s a must-have for anyone who loves Pinot. A straight down the pipe crowd pleaser for sure. Medium-bodied and flowing with flavors of warm cherry-rhubarb pie, alpine strawberries, cola, and baking spices. Brisk acidity makes it a perfect choice for pairings, too, while a kiss of new French oak firms up the complexity and gives some added seriousness.
Handley’s heritage was built from the ground up by visionary proprietor and winemaker Milla Handley, as featured by the Wine Enthusiast “Handley, one of the first women to graduate in Fermentation Science at the University of California at Davis in 1978, has spent 36 years creating her wine brands that are true to place. After working with Richard Arrowood at Chateau St. Jean and Jed Steele at Edmeades, she decided to start her own brand from what was then the largely unchartered winemaking territory of Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley.”
Decanter acknowledges Handley as “a trailblazer of the Anderson Valley wine scene where she was celebrated for her passion for Pinot Noir…”
So, there it is. Ultra-honest, uber-satisfying Pinot Noir for a song. You’ll love it.
Tasting Profile
Warm cherry-rhubarb pie, alpine strawberry, cola, spice
Look | Bright ruby with lucid, dreamy reflections |
---|---|
Smell | Warm cherry-rhubarb pie, alpine strawberries, cola, baking spices |
Taste | Medium-bodied, silky, warm, round, and satisfying |
Finish | A kiss of new French oak firms up the complexity and seriousness |
Pairing | Brisk acidity makes it a perfect choice for many pairings |
What the Winery Says
2017 Yorkville Highlands Pinot Noir
- Winemaker
- Randy Schock
- Vintage
- 2017
- Varietal
- 100% Pinot Noir
- Appellation
- Yorkville Highlands, Mendocino County
- Alcohol
- 14.2%
- Vineyard
- Lost Creek Vineyard
- Clones
- Pommard, Dijon 666 & 777
- Total acidity
- 5.6g/L
- pH
- 3.83
- Aging
- 14 months
- Barrels
- 20% new French oak