Mail Road, Mount Carmel Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills, California, 2017

Overview of the Wine
MAIL ROAD is a project born of a commitment to place.

We strive to produce wines of uncompromising excellence and distinction. Impossible-to-forget wines. Wines that open hearts and engage minds. Wines that are powerful, yet graceful and balanced. Wines that reveal the passion and uncompromising craft that went in their creation. Fifty miles northwest of Santa Barbara, California, on a steep, south-facing cliff, a short few miles from the Pacific Ocean, Mail Road meets its end at the geographic center of The Sta. Rita Hills AVA, the historic and iconic Mt. Carmel Vineyard. The wines produced by Mt. Carmel fruit are remarkable in their lean toward site specifically and marked by deep concentration, exceptional depth, structural complexity and bracing acidity.

Organic.

Grape / Blend
Pinot Noir

Origin
Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara, California

Winemaker Matt Dees Tasting Notes
Mount Carmel Vineyard is the exclusive purveyor to Mail Road Wines.  Mount Carmel Vineyard is located on a steep, south-facing cliff, north of the Santa Ynez River. Established in 1990 by Ron and Nancy Piazza, the vineyard is planted to a variety of own-rooted, organically and principally dry farmed, heritage Pinot Noir and Chardonnay clones. The vineyard is at 800 to 1000 feet elevation, with botella clay, limestone, diatomaceous earth, calcerous deposits and sandy loam soils.

95 Points - Vinous
Inky, rich and explosive, the 2017 Pinot Noir Mt. Carmel Vineyard captures all of the natural richness of the vintage. Today, it is the wine's sheer depth that speaks with most convection, but there is plenty of nuance behind that, especially once some of the primary flavors start to recede. The 2017 has tons of potential, that much is clear.

94+ Points - Jeb Dunnuck
There are a tiny 200 cases of the 2017 Pinot Noir Mount Carmel Vineyard, which comes from the estate vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills and was destemmed and aged in a little under 50% new French oak. It reveals a semi-opaque purple/ruby color as well as a youthful bouquet of black raspberries, mulberries, candied violets, Asian spice, and incense. With subtle oak, medium body, a concentrated, firm mid-palate, and present tannins, it's a beautiful wine, yet in no way ready to drink. Hide bottles for 2-4 years and it should cruise for a decade or more.

93 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Inky, rich and explosive, the 2017 Pinot Noir Mt. Carmel Vineyard captures all of the natural richness of the vintage. Today, it is the wine's sheer depth that speaks with most convection, but there is plenty of nuance behind that, especially once some of the primary flavors start to recede. The 2017 has tons of potential, that much is clear.

Product size: 750ml