95 Points Owen Bargreen
The 2021 ‘Mimi’s Mind’ comes from what was formerly the Hopewell Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA — a site that neighbors the Lingua Franca Estate vineyard. The wine combines Dijon clone 777 and Pommard selections, as this was stored in largely neutral oak barrels before bottling. This beautifully showcases the heat of the vintage, offering generous red fruits with wild blackberry, tobacco leaf, and shades of wet stones on the palate, with orange rind accents. Complex and delicious, enjoy now and over the next fifteen years.
94 Points Wine Spectator
Shows elegance and vitality, with multilayered raspberry and cranberry flavors accented by crushed stone, black tea and rose petal tones, which gather tension and structure toward medium-grained tannins. Drink now through 2031.
94 Points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Pinot Noir Mimi's Mind is powerful and complex. It has slowly unfurling, detailed aromas of wild berries, black tea, forest floor and fennel. The medium-bodied palate offers concentrated, layered, spicy flavors. It’s structured by chalky tannins and vibrant acidity and has a long, ultra-spicy finish.
Winemaker Notes
The 2021 Mimi’s Mind has a bright red fruit character with raspberry, strawberry, and citrus notes. It reveals a complex nose of herbs and rose petals, wearing its structure lightly, underpinned by the inclusion of some whole cluster fruit. This is the brightest vintage of Mimi’s Mind, gentle, delicate, and lyrical. Mimi Casteel’s vineyard has been a role model for regenerative farming, with thoughtful vineyard practices to improve the environment around and beyond her farm. We still name this cuvée in her honor. The 2021 Mimi’s Mind selection is 64% PN777 and the remainder classic Pommard Clone.
This wine will be excellent paired with poultry, such as rabbit braised with root vegetables and chanterelles, roast chicken with hedgehog mushroom, roasted lemon- thyme chicken, grilled quail seasoned with thyme and lemon, and a Pacific Northwest favorite plank-smoked salmon filet.
