Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Wine of the Week: Anthill Farms 2007 Comptche Ridge Pinot Noir!



Divas, I have another very special treat for you today!  This installment of Wine of the Week is brought to you by a guest blogger who is very near and dear to my heart!

It's Kuzak,  my wine-loving, legal eagle boyfriend!

You see, the truth of the matter is that he's the real wine expert in the Domestic Divas household, and I'm simply riding his coattails.  Not only did he commission the building of our wine cellar, but he diligently combs through tracking boards and other resources, all in the name of finding great wine!  He has impeccable taste when it comes to all things, but in particular, fermented grape juice!  So without further ado, here's his article on one of his favorite California producers!

ANTHILL FARMS 2007 COMPTCHE RIDGE, MENDOCINO COUNTY PINOT NOIR by Kuzak

One of my favorite measures of a good wine is the speed at which it gets drunk. People tend to take more frequent sips of something they enjoy. Without noticing, we sipped this particular bottle dry. The wine could definitely be called somewhat "easy to drink." While "easy-to-drinkedness" is not always a flattering quality in wine (Welch's grape juice is easy to drink), in my experience it serves young northern California pinot noirs, which are often angular or overly acidic, quite well. The fresh, ocean-blown textures and flavors in this wine were tremendous. No cloying acidity and no noticeable alcohol (which was low, in the 13% range to begin with). It had an excellent mouth-feel and was a good example of the smooth, cool climate Northern California pinot style that I prefer. The wine kept improving the longer it was open and exposed to air, and was its best when we finished it (less than two hours in).

These 2007 Anthill Farms pinots are some of the most consistently good California pinots I know of, particularly in the price range. The only place I know to get it is shipped directly from the winery via their website. I recommend you try a bottle, particularly the Comptche, Demuth or Abbey Harris offerings.  Score?  970/1000.  

Anthill Farms is a small independent winery founded in 2004 by three partners in Northern California who, at the time of its founding, had relatively little wine making experience. Their wines quickly became a hit and were soon championed by California pinot lovers in the know. Obtaining the better bottlings from Anthill has become increasingly more difficult over the last two years, with allocations to mailing list members and availability shrinking. While there is some variance between the quality of the offerings from the different vineyards (Demuth, Comptche and Abbey Harris are all great), the sub-$40-ish prices are impossible to beat for the consistent quality.

Pricing:

For the quality, these pinot noirs are reasonably priced, with many costing under $40/bottle!  The best way to get deals is to sign up for their mailing list, as Kuzak mentions, and order directly from them upon the release.

Winery Information:

Anthill Farms Winery
4791 Dry Creek Rd. #3-4
Healdsburg, CA 95448

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THEIR WEBSITE AND SIGN UP FOR THEIR WAITING LIST!

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