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LaRue, Rice-Spivak Vineyard, Pinot Noir

California, United States 2012 (750mL)
$70.00
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Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol
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LaRue, Rice-Spivak Vineyard, Pinot Noir


Only a few producers craft wine from the small, charmed Rice-Spivak Vineyard, which is perched at 230 feet in Sonoma Coast’s Petaluma Wind Gap just south of the town of Sebastopol. The Sonoma Coast appellation, where green, undulating hills roll into the Pacific, spans over 500,000 acres and delivers a wide range of microclimates. Within the vast appellation is the Petaluma Wind Gap, which channels in cool breezes that create a natural pocket of warm days bookended with fog-ladened mornings and nights that deliver ideal conditions for Burgundian varietals to thrive. It is here that Pinot Noir is able to reach full phenolic ripeness while still maintaining the freshness necessary to achieving the perfect balance for the varietal. Blessed with various soils, including Goldridge sandy loam and volcanic ash, which is rare for the area, this wine offers a distinct minerality that rivals the old world yet still holds more richness of fruit on the palate displaying its new world lineage.
 
LaRue’s winemaker and founder, Katy Wilson, has worked as a winemaker for numerous celebrated wineries including Joseph Phelps, Flowers, Kamen and Craggy Range. From an interventionist style to an entirely hands-off approach, she has mastered each end of the spectrum and quite a bit in between. Katy grew up in a farming town in California’s Central Valley and was comfortable on a tractor by the age of twelve. Needless to say, the young winemaker has quite an array of tools in her belt. She chooses to craft her own wine for her label, LaRue, with a non-interventionist, hands-off approach akin to the time-honored traditions of classic Burgundy, which delivers stunning and similar results. Named after her inspiring and determined great-grandmother, LaRue is a true labor of love for Katy and that translates beautifully in every terroir-driven sip.
 
This wine has an incredibly dark ruby core with pink and light garnet reflections on the rim, showing immense concentration for a pinot noir. Aromas are intense and simultaneously dense with fruit, earth and herbaceous notes. Dominated by an almost intangible aroma of dew-kissed redwood forest encased in layers dried black cherry, wild strawberry and black plums, the nose evolves to include mushrooms, wild lavender, sage, a hint of candied rhubarb, black tea and baking spices including star anise, vanilla bean and toasted oak, which reveals the wine’s seventeen months in 40% new French oak. The medium-bodied palate is well-structured with soft tannins and bright acidity and delivers an incomprehensible amount of depth and complexity that is reminiscent of the nose. Still a child, this wine will benefit from aging and will hit a sweet spot in 3-5 years, although it’s an absolute pleasure to drink right now. If desire wins out over patience, open this wine at least an hour before serving in large Burgundy stems between 60-65 degrees, depending on your preference. Decanting is not needed if you open the bottle plenty in advance. For a pairing worthy of this beautiful wine, prepare this recipe for duck with cherries. 
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Country
United States
Region
California
Sub-Region
United StatesSonoma Coast
Soil
Goldridge and Volcanic Ash
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Pinot Noir
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
French

United States

Washington

Columbia Valley

Like many Washington wines, the “Columbia Valley” indication only tells part of the story: Columbia Valley covers a huge swath of Central
Washington, within which are a wide array of smaller AVAs (appellations).

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley has become an elite winegrowing zone in record time. Pioneering vintner David Lett, of The Eyrie Vineyard, planted the first Pinot Noir in the region in 1965, soon to be followed by a cadre of forward-thinking growers who (correctly) saw their wines as America’s answer to French
Burgundies. Today, the Willamette
Valley is indeed compared favorably to Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. And while Pinot Noir accounts for 64% of Oregon’s vineyard plantings, there are cool-climate whites that must not be missed.

California

Santa Barbara

Among the unique features of Santa Barbara County appellations like Ballard Canyon (a sub-zone of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA), is that it has a cool, Pacific-influenced climate juxtaposed with the intense luminosity of a southerly
latitude (the 34th parallel). Ballard Canyon has a more north-south orientation compared to most Santa Barbara AVAs, with soils of sandy
clay/loam and limestone.

California

Paso Robles

Situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet, it is rooted in soils of sandy loam and falls within the Highlands District of the Paso Robles AVA.

New York

North Fork

Wine growers and producers on Long Island’s North Fork have traditionally compared their terroir to that of Bordeaux and have focused on French varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

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