2023 OLG RESERVE Pinot, Our Lady of Guadalupe Vyd
"A new bottling for this fledgling project, the 2023 Pinot Noir Reserve Our Lady of Guadalupe Vineyard is a barrel selction that aged for 16 months in 100% new French oak. Darker and more brooding in bearing than the estate Pinot tasted alongside, the Reserve marches across the plaate with impressive structural heft that needs to be absorbed into the fabric of the wine. That said, everything here is in fine proportion, bolstered by concentrated flavors and aromas of pomegranate, blueberry, chalk, crushed rocks, exotic spices, iodine and India ink. This will take at least a few yeard in bottle to come around, but the fruit is weighty enough to absorb the oak in due course. I wouldn't dream of touching a bottle anytime soon." -Vinous, 95+VM
"Our Lady of Guadalupe has been the single most talked-about vineyard development in the Sta. Rita Hills over the last few years. Dave Phinney made a big bet on the far western side of the appellation that has already started to pay big dividends. Phinney sells a considerable amount of fruit to select wineries and also makes wines under his own label. The first wines off the property suggest that the future is extremely bright. The team, led by Phinney, Vineyard Manager Amy Whiteford and Assistant Winemaker Christopher Hussey, clearly has ambitious goals. The wines are done in classic Dave Phinney style, which means they are on the richer side. In my view, there may be even more potential here for Chardonnay than Pinot Noir." -Antonio Galloni
