Cleo Pahlmeyer's Pinot Passion Project Has Become the Main Attraction
On the West Sonoma Coast frontier, Wayfarer's fruit-driven Pinot Noirs stand out
On the West Sonoma Coast frontier, Wayfarer's fruit-driven Pinot Noirs stand out
On the West Sonoma Coast frontier, Wayfarer's fruit-driven Pinot Noirs stand out
These are wines of amazing grace without sacrificing structure and layers.
Vinous Live! with Antonio Galloni and Cleo Pahlmeyer
The 2022 Pinot Noir The Traveler is a deep magenta ruby hue and is entirely from a suitcase clone that is now referred to as the "Wayfarer Clone." In the glass, it reveals a complex and layered nose of ripe cherries, wildflowers, black raspberries, forest herbs, and blood orange. It’s driving on the palate, with refined tannins and coiled, bright acidity throughout, and it’s fully ripe but has a persistently long finish. Not a wine for the faint of heart, it’s built for the long haul and is going to show its best if given time in the cellar. Drink 2026-2046.
The 2021 Pinot Noir The Traveler comes from a suitcase clone. Medium ruby-purple in color, it is a little closed to begin, soon unfurling to offer notes of raspberry leaves, lavender, tilled soil, and black truffles, leading to a core of redcurrant jelly and black raspberries plus a waft of fallen leaves. The medium to full-bodied palate is graceful and super-intense, chock full of floral and mineral nuances supported by silken tannins, and finishing very long with a firework display of savory and earth accents.
Lastly, the 2019 Pinot Noir The Traveler, from a suitcase clone selection in the vineyard, is more in the style of the Paige's Ridge and Golden Mean with its more linear, focused, incredibly pure personality. Bright wild strawberries, framboise, candied orange, spring flowers, and exotic spice notes all emerge from the glass, and it’s incredible on the palate, with a medium to full-bodied, flawlessly balanced, multi-dimensional mouthfeel that keeps you coming back to the glass. This is pure gold and one of the top 2-3 wines in the vintage. It will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age (it's far from unapproachable today) and knock your socks off over the following decade.
"All destemmed and brought up 83% new French oak, the tiny production 2018 Pinot Noir The Traveler is a gem of a wine that ranks with the top tier releases in the vintage. Made by Todd Kohn and all from the estate Wayfarer Vineyard, it offers a beautiful bouquet of ripe strawberries, framboise, white flowers, toasted spice, and pine/forest floor-like nuances. These all carry to a medium to full-bodied Pinot Noir with stunning tannins, a seamless texture, and flawless balance. It has a big core of sweet fruit (I'd guess Russian River blind) yet is just pure class, with nothing out of place and a great, great finish. It needs an hour in a decanter if drinking any time soon, and it's going to evolve for a solid decade."
"The 2017 Pinot Noir The Traveler comes from a single suitcase clone of unknown origin grown on the property. Fruit was entirely destemmed. It's pale to medium ruby-purple in color and takes its time to give aromatics of granite dust, fresh violet, blueberry, wild blackberries, dusty earth, tobacco leaf and Earl Grey tea, plus a vein of amaro and spice and hints of juicy red pomegranate. It's light to medium-bodied and absolutely lovely! Loads of floral perfume, ripe fruits, spices and earthy accents dance in the mouth, finely framed and so, so fresh, calling you in for another sip on the very long, layered finish. This is fantastic!"
“My favorite in the lineup was the 2016 Pinot Noir The Traveler, but these are all pretty much desert island wines... Sensational notes of passion fruits, blood orange, black raspberries, spice, and crazy floral notes give way to medium to full-bodied Pinot Noir that’s just about as good as it gets. With perfect tannins, a seamless, weightless texture, no hard edges, and a blockbuster finish, this finesse-driven, elegant Pinot Noir needs to be tasted to be believed.”
“The only special cuvee made in 2015, the 2015 Pinot Noir The Traveler comes from a suitcase clone (from a great, great producer in Burgundy) that was completely destemmed and spent 11 months in barrel. Awesome on the nose, with notes of violets, caramelized raspberries, blueberries, underbrush and spice, it has an ethereal texture, incredible purity and a killer finish. In short, I love this wine. Drink it anytime over the coming 10-15 years. There’s just 100 cases produced.
Structured, with years to go to take on added complexity and personality, this wine is also a study in immediate gratification, as it's presently so juicy and easy to enjoy. It comes from an east-facing block, planted to a suitcase clone. Exotic, rich red and black berry and cinnamon form an alliance of balance and mouthwatering seduction. The oak and tannin are fully in sync, while a salty, meaty finish provides additional decadence.
Medium ruby colored, the 2013 Pinot Noir The Traveler (made from the “suitcase clone”) has an earthy nose of fungi, underbrush, fertile soil and moss with a core of black cherries and cloves, plus wafts of violets and pepper. Medium-bodied, the palate has a great tannic backbone with plenty of freshness cutting through the intense earth and fruit layers, finishing on a wonderful textural note.
From an estate block planted to a mysterious suitcase clone, this is an insanely memorable and indelible Pinot. High in acidity, it discloses a touch of cedar on the back palate, richly luxurious and just aching for wild Sonoma duck adorned in a cherry reduction sauce. Cherry pit, berry, lavender and violet play on the nose and tongue, infusing the wine with a playfulness balanced by power.