Filed under: Awards, reviews | Tags: 100 Best Wines 2012, 2009 Deer Meadows Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, annual buyer's guide, Top 100, Wine & Spirits
Wine & Spirits Best 100 Wines of 2012
When we saw our 2009 Waits-Mast, Deer Meadows Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley and our 2009 Waits-Mast, La Encantada Pinot Noir from Sta. Rita Hills featured in Wine & Spirits‘ April 2012 issue of 129 Best American Pinot Noirs, we were very excited and honored. With a 94 point rating for the Deer Meadows and a 91 point rating for the La Encantada, it was great to be featured amongst other leading Pinot Noir from California and Oregon.
But when we found out that the 2009 Waits-Mast from Deer Meadows Vineyard was going to be included in Wine & Spirits‘ 100 Best Wines of 2012 in their 26th Annual Buying Guide (on newsstands this week), we were downright dumbfounded. Not because the wine isn’t a very special wine – it is a complex, layered and nuanced wine that has brought some to tears – but just because we’re this little micro-boutique winery making only 200 or 300 cases per year.
To be featured among 99 other amazing wines of all varietals from around the world, and among the eight Pinot Noir wines featured from California and Oregon, is thrilling, to say the least.
Well, enough about us, here’s what Wine & Spirits said about the wine: “94 points…a rich red fruit flavor of tiny woodland berries, tart and fragrant. There’s a salty porcini note, a coastal forest feel, delicate and harmonious.”
The Deer Meadows, like many of our 2009s, has been very popular among our fans and retail and restaurant customers. We are starting to run low on inventory of this wine – we only made 48 cases and have about 10 cases left.
Deer Meadows Vineyard, Anderson Valley
That scarcity will continue after the 2009 vintage, as we will not have any more Deer Meadows Pinot Noir available until we bottle our 2012 vintage, so acquire some of this special wine today by going to our webstore. If you’re not in a state we ship to, San Francisco Wine Trading Company carries it online and can ship to most states. You can also find the 2009 Deer Meadows at Robert’s Market in Woodside, Canyon Market in San Francisco, and at the following Northern California restaurants: Kokkari, Liberty Cafe, Cin-Cin Wine Bar & Restaurant, Boonville Hotel and MacCallum House.
Filed under: Awards | Tags: Amber Ridge Vineyard, Burl Ives, La Encantada Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, San Francisco International Wine Competition, Waits-Mast Family Cellars
Waits-Mast Family Cellars was proud to take home silver and gold medals for its first ever entries in the San Francisco International Wine Competition. Yes, when we think of silver and gold we can’t help but think of that Burl Ives song from the Rankin-Bass Christmas classic, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. Perhaps we’ve got a little bit of Christmas in July going on here, but it’s always nice to receive such accolades for our humble wines.
2008 Amber Ridge Pinot Noir
Both our 2008 Amber Ridge Pinot Noir from Russian River Valley and 2008 La Encantada Pinot Noir(due to be released in the early Fall) from Sta. Rita Hills received silver medals in the pinot noir category. The competition was stiff and included wines from Oregon, France, New Zealand and other regions, so we’re honored to be included among some greats. See the entire list here.
The competition also included a label competition to recognize excellence in label design in the industry and our 2008 Amber Ridge label won a gold medal. Our wine label (for all wines, not just the Amber Ridge) went through a revamp in the 2007 vintage, with the intention of creating a more sophisticated, yet down-to-earth look.
The panoramic “band” label is designed to emphasize the foggy grandeur of the landscape photo and to also stand out on the shelf at a wine shop or wine bar. In the end, it is meant to reflect the quality and experience of our cool-climate pinot noirs. Yes, it’s okay to judge a book by its cover as well. Special thanks to designers Alyssa Ure and Hayley Partridge who helped us design the wonderful label and packaging for our wines.
The San Francisco International Wine Competition is in its 30th year now, and includes over 3,800 different wines from over 1,200 wineries across 28 states and 27 countries. 45 wine industry professionals served as judges for the competition, which took place in mid-June.
The Waits-Mast 2008 Amber Ridge is currently available in our webstore. Stay posted to this blog for the release of the 2008 La Encantada.
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