Ancillary 'Sun Chase Vineyard' Pinot Noir 2015Petaluma Gap

While Mike Smith might be most known for his perfect score efforts at Carter Cellars, Myriad and McGah, he also makes really good Pinot Noir. In partnership with Mark Carter of Carter Cellars, Ancillary has been a Pinot we’ve been supporting since their first vintage which was 2012. Since then, we’ve looked forward to tasting the new release each year and this 2015 doesn’t disappoint. Since their first vintage, they have sourced their Pinot Noir from Sun Chase Vineyard, a 40-acre vineyard in the Sonoma Coast AVA. It is further inland so it offers deeper, briary notes than you would get from the Pacific coastline vineyards in Sonoma Coast. That being said, with the maritime breeze zipping through the vineyard, there is a freshness and purity that makes this Pinot lively. This 2015 offers complexity from the red berry notes alongside spice box and a silky mouthfeel.