2023 Wayfarer Pinot Noir
Mother Rock

A rich ruby in the glass, the 2023 Pinot Noir ‘Mother Rock’ is extraordinarily perfumed, presenting layered aromas of Morello cherry, crushed violet petals, black tea leaf, cocoa powder and dusty red earth. Focused fruit character and savory notes beautifully intertwine, bolstered by velvety and supple tannin. A vibrant and lifted acidity persists through to a lengthy finish, showcasing the tension between bright fruit and the minerality indicative of Mother Rock.

About Mother Rock
Harvested from vines along two perpendicular ridgelines where our soil is the shallowest, the vine roots reach deep into the sandstone bedrock. Mother Rock expresses purity of fruit and intensity of flavor while maintaining nerve and precision and a distinctive mineral finish.  It is a co-fermentation of two clonal selections, Mt. Eden and Dijon 777.

Each block was picked by hand at night, and firm, cool clusters were delivered to the winery before sunrise.  We sorted the clusters by hand and reserved 10% for whole-cluster fermentation.  The remainder of the fruit was destemmed before we transferred it into a stainless steel tank for five days of cold maceration. Fermentation was carried out by native yeast, and we punched the cap down by hand, with the frequency and technique determined by tasting each tank daily.  The free run wine aged in 228L French oak barrels, 58% new, for 15 months prior to bottling.