The 2022 Pinot Noir Belly Of The Whale is sourced from Dijon clones from the Sun Chase Vineyard, the highest rocky site they work with, where the vines struggle to grow. In the glass, it pours a ripe magenta with a light purple tone and offers a more complex, concentrated profile int its notes of wild black raspberries, violets, pine needles, sous bois, and dark stones. Medium-bodied, it brings more intensity to the palate and has great freshness and a long finish. Polished, very well-styled, and layered but not heavy, it’s going to be long-lived for this vintage. Very well done. Drink 2026-2037.

This gutsy, muscular wine comes from the low-yielding, rocky soil of Sunchase Vineyard in the Petaluma Gap district. Vivid, almost tart fruit like blackcurrants and black cherries meld with minerals and a touch of pepper wrapped in bracing tannins and backed by good acidity. Very fresh, linear and built for long aging. Drinkable now, but best from 2028.

The 2022 Pinot Noir Belly of the Whale hails from a single block in the Sun Chase Vineyard in the Petaluma Gap (block 17, the highest elevation block, at about 1,300 feet). Rocky, stress-inducing soils always yield small harvests here, which was no different in 2022. More inward and reserved than some of the other Pinots in this range, the Belly of the Whale is deeply concentrated and forcefully structured, holding its power in reserve. Blood orange, black tea and spicy herbs linger, finishing with notable persistence and drive. - By Billy Norris on August 2024

Matured for 16 months in 80% new French oak, the 2022 Pinot Noir Belly of the Whale has pure scents of rhubarb and blueberry, plus accents of licorice, orange peel and allspice. The medium-bodied palate combines concentrated flavors with fireworks of fresh acidity, and it has notably well-integrated new oak character. 115 cases were made.- EB