Wayfarer Pinot Noir

Wayfarer vineyard is extraordinary and unforgiving: undulating slopes hidden among winding mountain roads and redwoods, swathing a ridge on the northwestern reach of the Sonoma Coast. This remote landscape is the provenance of wildly beautiful wines born of risk, rigor and mastery – small-lot Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Pacific’s most dramatic appellation. Wayfarer was founded as a secluded farmstead more than 40 years ago, before its locale was defined as the now coveted Fort Ross-Seaview AVA. In 1998, Jayson Pahlmeyer’s winemaker, Helen Turley, discovered the site for sale down the road from her Marcassin vineyard. She introduced it to Pahlmeyer, declaring it destined to become the La Tache of California. Standing on the sandy Goldridge soils, inhaling the cool sea air, bathing in the generous sunshine, he, too, was captivated by the possibilities of this rustic, luminous place far from everything. Renowned vineyard developer David Abreu designed the vineyard as 30 one-acre blocks, each dedicated to an individual clone. The vineyard is farmed meticulously block-by-block, with each vine tended 12 times from pruning to harvest. Ten years after the vineyard was planted, Cleo Pahlmeyer, Jayson’s daughter, introduced the first Wayfarer Vineyard wines in 2012. In tandem with winemaker Todd Kohn, Cleo Pahlmeyer drives to make intricate wines of transcendence, answering to a powerful, ever-unpredictable climate that rewards only the most observant and meticulous. It is an endeavor of true passion, an experiment that pushes the exactitude of winegrowing and winemaking to the farthest limits. We invite you to discover Wayfarer, the culmination of a far-reaching journey. “The largest production cuvée based on a mix of clones, the 2017 Pinot Noir Wayfarer Vineyard was mostly de-stemmed and spent 15 months in 50-60% new French oak. It reveals a bright ruby-tinged color and offers a feminine style in its notes of raspberries, flowers, rose hips, and spice. It’s fine, incredibly elegant, has fine tannins, and just glides over the palate.” 95 Points. Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com.