Beaux Freres, Ribbon Ridge "Upper Terrace Vineyard" Pinot Noir 2022
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98
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Pinot Noir The Upper Terrace is from a vineyard adjacent to Sequitur and planted in 1999. A reflective red hue, the wine is a bit reduced on opening, with notes of black raspberries, dark stones, a hint of violets, and sage, then takes on more lifted woodsy spice, toast, and piney herbs. It fills the palate with a plush texture and pure, ripe fruit and has a seamless feel and a long finish. It’s going to age gracefully and offer a wide drinking window over the coming 15 or so years, but if opening soon, it will benefit from decanting.
The 2022 version of the often-effusive Upper Terrace is still tightly wound in its nascent state. The new oak is about 31% on this wine, as it shows sweet notes of fleshy ripe cherries, desiccated foliage and turned damp organic soils. The palate shows its true elegance. It’s textured and rich with vibrant red berry fruits and evergreen tips mixed with mint and savoury richness. The earthen character comes forth here as well as mushroom and forest floor linger long and lovely on the finish.
The 2022 Pinot Noir The Upper Terrace has a stony quality that adds lovely depth, opening with a blend of dusty dried flowers, savory spice, dried wild berries and hints of cedar. Seamlessly silky, it floods the palate with masses of ripe fruit and a cascade of inner florals, revealing a stern mineral core as sweet tannins frame the finish. This leaves a staining of primary concentration, tapering off with amazing length and potency. An air of lavender resonates over a tinge of tart blackberry fruit.
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