2022 Anthill Farms - Pinot Noir Anderson Valley Baker Ranch Vineyard (750ml)

Anthill Farms is a small, partner-run winery built by three former cellar hands who cut their teeth at Sonoma's Williams Selyem before striking out on their own with barely any capital. Winemaker Anthony Filiberti has since worked at other respected Pinot Noir houses including Knez and Hirsch, experience that shows in the label's knack for letting each vineyard speak in its own voice. Rather than chasing a single house style, Anthill Farms sources fruit from remote, cool-climate sites across Sonoma and Mendocino counties and lets the differences between them come through clearly from bottling to bottling.

Baker Ranch sits deep in Anderson Valley near the town of Philo, tucked among redwoods and Douglas fir just above the old-growth groves of Hendy Woods. The east-facing vineyard rests on shallow, slate-based soils with an unusually high mineral content and pH for California, and its roughly twenty-year-old vines are farmed without irrigation by the Baker family. Much of the planting is Swan clone, heritage Pinot Noir material said to have been brought over from Burgundy decades ago, giving the wine an unmistakable sense of place.

Aromas of rhubarb, juniper, cracked pepper, and tea leaves unfurl slowly in the glass, leading to a concentrated, layered palate with a crunchy, energetic quality. Chalky tannins and juicy acidity carry through a long finish touched with citrus and floral perfume. Try it with grilled quail, roasted root vegetables, or a nutty aged Gruyère.