Since SommSelect’s inception, Ghostwriter wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains have been some of our most popular Californian wine offerings, and for good reason. Our clients adore these overtly serious and terroir-driven wines, and so do we—in the rare instances when we can locate them!
Ghostwriter bottles four extremely limited Pinot Noir releases from four distinct micro-parcels in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a coastal region one hour south of San Francisco. Today’s 2013 “Belle Farms”—and Ghostwriter’s most limited production single-vineyard red—is a one-stop master class in the aromatic beauty, refinement, and inimitable soil character of Pinot Noir from the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA. Today’s wine will be a thrilling treat for Burgundy lovers wishing to dip their toe back into California, or for anyone eager to explore the elite tier of cult Santa Cruz Pinot. This is an extraordinary (and extraordinarily rare) wine, so don’t miss out!
Today’s wine originates from a 1.5-acre parcel in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The “Belle Farms” vineyard sits at 600 feet elevation and enjoys the gentle, tempering influence of a coastal climate. Furthermore, this vineyard’s decades-old rootstock are grafted to Pinot Noir clones originating in Champagne; not Burgundy or California, so their natural inclination is toward structure and delicate aromatics; not ripeness and extract. Aromas leap out of the glass with gorgeous wild mountain flowers, verdant forest notes and a truly vivid sense of place. Fruit is balanced and in no way overripe, with plump red and black cherries, and a dark, plummy freshness that keeps every sip as satisfying and refreshing as the first. This is a serious and definitively coastal/mountain Pinot Noir, immediately distinguishable from its cousins in the Russian River Valley or Carneros—really outstanding stuff. If enjoying today, decant for 30 minutes and serve (next to a seared duck breast if you know what’s good for you!) in large Burgundy stems. That said, Ghostwriter is among the small community of contemporary California Pinot Noir producers who bottle wine that is built for extended evolution in one’s cellar. I’ve enjoyed Ghostwriter Pinot Noirs from the 2000s that offered deeply impressive savor and mature aromatics, with seemingly no expiration date in site. I have no doubt that, with it’s invigorating freshness and fine tuned balance, today’s wine will age and improve for at least a decade. I’m setting some aside and encourage you to do the same!