95 Points Wine Enthusiast
Ripe in flavor and luxurious in texture, this wine is difficult to put down. It is saturated in black cherry, black currant and black fig while staying light on the palate. It's a wonderful indulgence to enjoy by itself or with a roast pheasant or duck breast.
92 Points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From a vineyard parcel planted on volcanic soils next to the winery, the 2021 Pinot Noir Mink Vineyard offers up a beguiling array of floral and spice notes, including hints of cardamom and rose petals, plus cherries and strawberries. It's medium-bodied yet expansive on the palate, with a delicate, silky mouthfeel backed by a wiry spine that extends through the finish. Drinking window 2023-2030
Winemaker Notes
The Mink Vineyard is located next door to the winery, in the Coombsville Viticultural Area of Napa Valley. Open to the same morning fogs and afternoon breezes that cool Carneros to the west, Coombsville is consistently one of the coolest pockets in Napa. Mink sits inside a small “bowl”, allowing cooler air to settle during the evenings, and making Mink’s mesoclimate a couple degrees cooler, even, than the surrounding hills. But the real secret to Mink’s explosive flavors, smooth, mouth-coating minerality, comes from the soil. Underneath is a layer of compressed volcanic ash, called tufa. The tufa drains the topsoil, storing moisture in its porous structure. The vines are able, with some work, to grow roots into the tufa layer, accessing moisture during the long, dry growing season.
