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Vintage 2024 unfolded with remarkable precision. The wines show fresh, lifted aromatics, vibrant yet integrated acidity, and impressive flavor intensity without heaviness. This SoCo installment features two exciting new vineyard sites that compliment the stalwart sources from John Balletto's ranches in the extremely cool Sebastopol Hills. Namely some organically farmed, old vine Wente from Frank Johnson (17% of blend) and some top tier stuff from a cooler pocket of the Alexander Valley (Gamino Vineyard). Like the 2023, this wine was fermented and aged in 100% stainless steel — homage to the mouthwatering wine that inspired it: Louis Michel Chablis.

There's a reason winemakers around here are calling 2023 'the best vintage of their careers.' And a reason the wines are getting gaudy scores from the critics (including 96 points for this Chardonnay). It was a near-perfect vintage with no heat, fires, or drama of any kind and mid-October harvest dates like we used to see in the 1990s. This 2023 Estero got a pedigree bump too-- the final blend was 57% Burnside (which borders Littorai) + 19% Piner + 10% Tidal Break + 8% Skycrest + 6% Casa Seca. And it's 100% delicious. We've been over-vintaging this wine for the past few vintages, so it gets the long elevage and the complexity and flinty reduction that comes with it. The 3.3 pH means your mouth's gonna water.

We're gonna go on record and say it: this wine is ONE OF ONE. There simply is not another Mendocino Pinot Noir being bottled today that claims such a wide range of vineyard sources. From the interior valleys to the far coast. Like the 2023 before it, the 2024 installment was elevated by an exciting new vineyard source in the densely forested coastal hamlet of Comptche. The Comptche lots were blended with stalwarts from the Anderson Valley, The Cole Ranch, and the Potter Valley. We feel this wine from disparate but essentially Mendocino ranches gives a wide aperture view of this wild evergreen county, and makes for an authentic expression of Mendocino Pinot Noir.

We went back to Pocket Canyon in 2024--the sweet little vineyard that gave us pea-sized berries and a gusher of sour red fruit last year. The site is planted with prized Swan clone on a steep slope enclosed by redwoods in a fog-choked canyon west of Forestville. It's "dry-farmed by default" because the coyotes chew on the drip lines. The other component in the wine is from the Sealift Vineyard on the West Sonoma Coast near Annapolis. Just a few miles from the Pacific, Sealift provides a savory, saline quality that marries well with the pretty red-fruit notes. The wine showcases what we love about Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir — energy, mouthwatering acidity, and signature tone.

After years of petitioning, frontier growers John Peterson and Saul Ramirez were awarded appellation status for their vineyards out on the far Mendocino coast. Comptche is defined by its low lying elevation (300-400') and proximity to the nearby Pacific Ocean (14mi) with it's damp fog and cool air. The proximate Albion Wind Gap channels the ocean influence into the coastal valleys. Densely forested, extremely remote, and alive with black bears, bald eagles and steelhead—this is wilderness wine. The wines remind us of the premier deep-end sites in the nearby Anderson Valley—shot through with dark berries, blue florals, and coniferous—but for half the price. New frontiers often bring value so go ahead and join the pioneer party!

Here is your Wednesday Night Red. As in: whatever you're making for dinner on a Wednesday, Indica will be a fine accompaniment. The 2023 shows the once-in-ten-years fruit quality that this vintage is becoming well known for. It is a blend of three historic Mendocino ranches—all dry-farmed since the 1940's. This blend of 87% Carignan + 13% Valdiguie rocked 50% whole clusters, with a good bit going through carbonic maceration to highlight the crunchy freshness of this wine. The result is chillable, medium weight red—with some grip—that reminds of us Cote de Brouilly but is unabashedly Californian.