2012 Wayfarer Pinot Noir
Mother Rock

Tasting Notes

A cuvée of clones 37 and Dijon 777, Mother Rock is named for Wayfarer’s sandstone substrate, which urges our vines to burrow deeply, their fruit echoing the unlocked terrain below. Flinty minerality ascends from the glass, a tribute to the wine’s earthy origins. Intense, bright fruit aromatics evoke raspberry, red cherry, strawberry, blueberry and red currant underscored by mineral notes and a delicate woody character achieved with aging in fine French oak. A mouth-coating cascade of cassis and black cherry carries through the long finish, bolstered by balancing acidity and velvety tannins.

Updated tasting notes :

Winemaking Notes

We hand-picked and hand-sorted the fruit, reserving 24% for whole-cluster fermentation prior to de-stemming. The remaining berries were de-stemmed and hand-sorted again before transfer to tank. Five to seven days of cold maceration preceded more than two weeks of 100% native yeast fermentation. The fruit was then gently pressed, its free-run juice transferred to 56% new French oak barrels for 15 months of aging.

Vintage Notes

The 2012 growing year began with average rainfall and steady, moderate temperatures. A mild spring led to a warm, dry summer, providing ideal conditions for vine growth. Our vineyard crew worked diligently to control vigor and manage the leaf canopy to ensure well-formed, consistent clusters by early summer. Veraison occurred in early August. Mid-to late-summer temperatures never spiked, allowing the fruit to ripen slowly and steadily – the hallmark of a great vintage. Clone 37 in Block 3 and Dijon 777 in Block 11 were harvested on September 28 and co-fermented, as they achieved ideal aromatic maturity and physiological development in parallel, and both reflect the minerality and depth of our sandy vineyard soil.

Blocks Map

Clones

37, Dijon 777