2022 LaRue - Pinot Noir Sonoma (750ml)

LaRue Wines was founded in 2009 by winemaker Katy Wilson, who named the label after her great-grandmother, Veona LaRue Newell, an independent spirit who inspired her own entrepreneurial path. Katy's husband, David Meneses, a certified sommelier, joined the business in 2019, and together they keep production intentionally small at around 500 cases a year. Guided by a minimal-intervention philosophy, the couple works directly with growers along the Sonoma Coast to let each vineyard's character shine through in the finished wines.

This bottling is a barrel-selection blend drawn from LaRue's single-vineyard Pinot Noir lots, with Katy tasting through every barrel to choose those showing the most fruit-forward, expressive character for the vintage. Because production is so limited, each barrel is treated as its own individual lot throughout aging, allowing for careful, barrel-by-barrel decisions on racking and lees contact. The wine spends about twenty months in barrel before bottling, resulting in a blend that changes composition slightly from year to year.

Aromas of raspberry, Bing cherry, and strawberry mingle with notes of leather and warm cardamom spice. The palate is bright and layered, structured enough to reward cellaring yet approachable on release. It makes a fine match for grilled salmon, duck breast, or a charcuterie spread with aged gouda.