2013 Wind Gap Pinot Noir Woodruff Vineyard Santa Cruz 1.5 Liter Magnum

Pax Mahle landed in Napa Valley in 1997. Following a stint as a wine buyer at Dean & Deluca, he started producing wines. He particularly focused on cool climate Syrah. With the launch of Wind Gap in Petaluma, he began to focus on lower alcohol Pinot Noir sourced from organic and low-intervention vineyards.

Woodruff Vineyard is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The vines are 30+ years-old, deeply rooted, dry farmed Pinot Noir on sandy soils. The personality and intensity of the site and the warm, dry vintage is on full display. Bright, tangy purple fruit and florals combine with wild herbs, bright acidity, and warm, spicy earth in this poised, structured, deeply flavorful and invigorating wine. 

The 2013 Pinot Noir Woodruff Vineyard is intensely floral, savory and punchy, with tons of bright red fruit supported by veins of underlying acidity and minerality. Lifted, floral and precise, with plenty of character from this sandy, terraced site, the 2013 is another stand out from Wind Gap and Pax Mahle. The 100% whole clusters seem quite well-suited to the perfumed style here. ~94VM