2022 Oxlee Graham Alder Springs Pinot Noir - Mabel's

Jennie Murphy created Oxlee Graham as an homage to her grandmothers in 2022, after working for 12 years at Paul Hobbs Wines, including as director of winemaking. Stuart Bewley planted Alder Springs Vineyard in far northern Mendocino County in 1993 after studying viticulture at UC Davis, visiting great vineyards around the world, and then traipsing all over California to find the ideal site. Alder Springs sits at 2,500 feet of elevation and 12 miles from the Pacific Ocean. It has become one of the premier vineyards in California, thanks to its location, steepness, volcanic soils, and drainage - and the obsessive farming of Bewley and his team.

Oxlee Graham’s Alder Springs Pinot Noir was fermented with indigenous yeasts and 30% whole clusters in French oak barrels (28% new). Fermentation lasted for 17 days. The wine then aged for 10 months in the same mix of barrels before being bottled without fining or filtration.

The wine is a crystalline ruby color in the glass. It has pretty, delicate red fruits with a leafy and earthy edge. On the palate, there’s a silky texture and a wisp of herbs. It’s a lithe and perfectly-balanced 12.8% alcohol - light-bodied for California pinot noir, but certainly not light in flavor or breed. Drink it in a Burgundy stem with any of the usual red Burgundy and lighter pinot noir foods, including duck and other fowl, mushrooms, salmon.