2012 Samsara Pinot Noir Melville Vyd Santa Rita Hills

WA95 Maybe the best Pinot Noir from Chad to date, the 2012 Pinot Noir Melville Vineyard saw 50% stems and 20 months in 50% new French oak. It is flat-out awesome. Possessing lots of salty minerality in its black raspberry, truffle, autumn leaf and wood-smoke-scented bouquet, this beauty hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a seamless, silky texture and fabulous persistence and flavor intensity that comes through on the finish. While it saw 50% stems, they’re nicely integrated and work well with this cuvee.
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AG93 The 2012 Pinot Noir Melville Vineyard is round, sweet and enveloping in style. Dark red cherry, plum, spice, violet and mint overtones wrap around the palate in a succulent, expressive Pinot that emphasizes texture and voluptuousness. The 50% whole clusters are pretty much buried by the richness of the fruit.

Samsara is the micro-production label of Chad and Mary Melville using fruit from their estate Melville Vineyard as well as sourced fruit from a few select neighboring vineyards in the Santa Rita Hills. Pinot Noir and Syrah are the focus, with a tiny bit of Grenache also produced. The goal is varietal purity and site expression, utilizing whole cluster native fermentations, gravity flow, and judicious oak application. The wines reflect plenty of California fruitbut also exhibit an old world sensibility