2021 Martinelli Pinot Noir Lolita Ranch

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The Reuling Vineyard is an exciting new acquisition for the team at Arista that was planted by Peter Michael in 2000 with vine cuttings from Burgundy in Vosne-Romanée. The first release of this wine, the 2021 Pinot Noir Reuling Vineyard is highly expressive in the glass and pours a deep ruby/magenta color. It’s perfumed with cascading aromas of Amarena cherries, black truffle, and dark mineral earth. Medium-bodied, it’s seamless in structure, with pure, even tannins, elegant freshness, and good tension to hold it all together through to its long finish. It’s a superb first vintage of this wine that readers should snap up. Drink 2026-2046. Located in the heart of the Russian River Valley, Arista Winery was founded in 2002 by Al and Janis McWilliams, who handed over day-to-day operations to their children, Mark and Ben, in 2012. Today, the winemaking is overseen by esteemed winemaker Matt Courtney, who spent eight years with Marcassin. Additionally, Matt makes wines under his own label, Ferren, and as of this year, Volterre, which readers will find in this report. He holds back an additional year in bottle for both wineries before release. This year, we see the return of the Pinot Noirs in the range, after the estate made the difficult decision not to produce any reds in 2020 due to the effects of the fires. In the cellar, all of the wines are barrel fermented, and fermentation is started with native yeast.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Reuling Vineyard is one of the more expressive wines in this range from Arista. Floral notes open first, leading to dark red/purplish fruit, spice, orange peel and mint. I especially admire the energy and vibrancy here. More than anything else, the Reuling speaks to finesse.