Wagner releases his prized Taylor Lane Pinot Noirs in magnums only, and only when he deems they are beginning to show their true quality. He released the 2011 and 2014 vintages after nine years of aging, but held this tremendous 2013 vintage, the top Taylor Lane yet, back for 11 years.
Wagner says:
The third cellar release from this majestic vineyard showcases a deep garnet-red hue, accompanied by enticing aromas of fresh blackberry, blueberry, rich oak, ripe plum, and crème de cassis. Upon tasting, its bright acidity and rich tannins envelop the palate, while the wine’s excellent structure and silky texture deliver a truly gratifying experience. With over a decade of aging, this wine is currently hitting all the marks and promises to evolve with even greater complexity over time.
It is by far the most loaded and grand cru-like Taylor Lane yet. And indeed, Wagner makes this with the help of famed grand cru Burgundy producer Mounir Saouma from Lucien Le Moine – as he recognized the truly Burgundian potential of this incredible Sonoma Coast site. (You can see the Farallon Islands from this cold, windswept, high-altitude vineyard – and Wagner came up with a unique and quite costly trellising system to optimize fruit ripeness here.)
Remember, the 2014 vintage, with 97 points from the Tasting Panel, was the top-rated Belle Glos Pinot ever, and the 2011 vintage was the best Belle Glos ever for Vinous.
But this 2013 will easily eclipse them both!Top of Form
Here are a couple of excerpts from a Forbes Magazine article detailing just how special this wine is:
All one has to do is sit with Joseph Wagner and talk about his wine process step by step to realize that there is an enormous amount of detail, thought and innovation in each stage that was placed into getting a wine that expresses the ultimate aromatics, flavors and texture of the Taylor Lane.
Just one of the many aspects that goes through a painstaking process is one of the ways he treats his French barrels. He expands the barrel with steam, giving more chance for the wine to have a greater exchange of oxygen, and then the steam condenses into water and is left for two to three months to leech out all of the harsh oak tannins and gives him a semi-neutral barrel - it is not completely neutral because it still has a slight character giving a hint of French oak aromatics and flavor profile and most importantly the ability to micro-oxygenate over the course of the wine’s aging life in that barrel.
Needless to say, this is the wine Wagner is proudest of, and most devoted to. But then, it’s the vineyard that Wagner himself planted while he was in high school.
It’s very limited, of course…and less than half the winery’s $225 price!