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2016 Wayfarer Wayfarer Vineyard Pinot Noir, 1.5ltr

Not Currently In Auction

Latest Sale Price

May 5, 2024 - $130

Estimate

RATINGS

97Jeb Dunnuck

...offers a bright framboise, cranberry, exotic flower, and spice-driven bouquet that carries to a medium-bodied, silky Pinot Noir that has everything in all the right places. Showing more floral, spice, and forest floor with time in the glass, incredible tannin quality, and a great finish...

95Wine Enthusiast

...succulent and supple, with a tense body of bright wild strawberry, crushed rock, dried lavender and Asian spice. Robustly rich and deeply layered in flavor and texture, it finishes in a gorgeous dabble of white pepper.

94Vinous / IWC

...fabulous. Powerful and beautifully layered in the glass, it offers terrific depth of fruit allied to structure... Hints of red plum fruit, floral and spice notes emerge over time...

94James Suckling

...offers exceptional detail in terms of aromas and flavors with a ripe array of red cherries, framed in seductively spicy oak and fresh, youthful, meaty notes. There’s a long, plush and succulent feel to the palate with elegant, fine-grained tannins, delivered in silky and regal style. Impressive precision.

92The Wine Advocate

...lovely red cherries, redcurrants and pomegranate notes with touches of dried herbs and forest floor...palate is medium to full-bodied with tons of bright fruit layers and a fine-grained texture, finishing long and juicy.

92Wine Spectator

Features a distinctive edge of tangy red berry, raspberry and cranberry flavors. Refined and elegant, even as the fine-grained tannins weigh in on the aftertaste.

PRODUCER

Wayfarer

Wayfarer is a Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir estate with a classy pedigree. It was founded in 2002 by Jayson Pahlmeyer, an attorney who in 1985 founded Pahlmeyer winery and hired legendary winemaker Helen Turley. In the late 1990s Pahlmeyer became intrigued by Burgundian wines and tried to buy vineyards in Burgundy, only to have the sale fall through at the last minute. Instead he found an organic farm for sale on the ridges of the Sonoma Coast near Helen Turley’s Marcassin vineyard. Pahlmeyer bought the 30 acres and David Abreu planted vineyards in 2002. Pahlmeyer runs the estate with his daughter Cleo and consulting winemaker Bibiana Gonzalez Rave. The estate and its wines are all in the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA, a northern Sonoma Coast AVA only just approved in 2012. The Wayfarer vineyard is 1,100 feet high, resulting in plenty of sun as well as cooling marine breezes. The estate makes several Pinot Noirs and one Chardonnay. Reviews have been impressed, awarding some of the wines scores in the high 90s. The journal Vinous has written that “simply put, the wines are stunning.”

REGION

United States, California, Sonoma County, Fort Ross-Seaview

Sonoma County is not an AVA, but it is a commonly used informal designation for wines made outside of more specific AVAs within Sonoma, which is a large wine producing region just west of Napa Valley. Though Sonoma is often overshadowed by its glamorous neighbor Napa Valley, it has a long history of wine production. The area specialized in jug wine until the mid-20th century, when Sonoma producers took a cue from Napa and started improving quality. Unlike Napa, where Cabernet Sauvignon is king, Sonoma specialized in Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel, though excellent Cabs are produced too. There are at present 16 AVAs within Sonoma County, and, like much of the West Coast of the United States, new AVAs are created in Sonoma County with regularity. Some Sonoma appellations, such as the Russian River Valley, are renowned for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

TYPE

Red Wine, Pinot Noir

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.