2017 vintage notes
95 points Vinous: "Highly expressive, spice- and mineral-tinged red fruits, candied flowers, musky earth and incense qualities on the perfumed nose. Silky and energetic on the palate, offering pliant raspberry, cherry pie and rose pastille flavors that become weightier as the wine stretches out. Shows superb clarity and floral lift on a strikingly long, incisive finish braced by polished, well-integrated tannins."
2016 vintage notes
95 points Wine Advocate: "The 2016 Pinot Noir Daphne Vineyard has a nose of red currants, dried cranberries, red cherries and blueberries with accents of tree bark, salami, Earl Grey tea leaves, violet, dusty earth and peppercorn. Medium-bodied and silky, the palate offers intense, perfumed fruits with a finely grained frame and fantastic freshness calling you in for another sip, finishing long and floral. This is so beautiful!"
It’s impossible to contain my enthusiasm for this wine and this vineyard. My first “ah-hah!” moment occurred with the 2009 Daphne (at the time, only the second bottling ever of a Daphne designate). After all other wines came and went, it was tied for my wine of the entire vintage (Thomas ‘09 sharing the crown).
Daphne Vineyard is the second oldest (planted in 1974) and highest elevation (890 feet) Eyrie vineyard. It is exposed, cold and windy, the soil is extremely shallow. The vines are almost bonsai-like and stripped of bark because of the harsh environment (see below); the clusters they produce are tiny. The stressed conditions breed a unique and awesome wine. A glowing orb of energy, Daphne's brilliance radiates outward, packed with so much intensity of aroma and flavor that I don't know where to begin. Rose-accented red, blue, and purple tones, exotic spices, surprisingly overt and showy already yet with a 15-20 year cellar life ahead of it. - Marcus
Below: Jason Lett in Daphne Vineyard, the bonsai-like vines of Daphne
