WHITCRAFT: SERIOUSLY PLAYFUL SERIOUS WINE
Since 1985, Whitcraft has been a champion of an exquisite and unique style of Central Coast Pinot Noir and Gamay that could easily be compared to that of Dujac in its unapologetic embrace of woodsy, spice tones. Drake Whitcraft crafts these wines with biodynamic principles, and he has carried on his father's commitment to organic farming and winemaking without manipulation. There's not a kilowatt of electricity used in the winemaking process, but that doesnt mean these wines dont have electricity!
There's not only an elephant on this label, but there's an elephant in the room. Just because the wine is fun doesnt mean it cant be serious and interesting and that's where this wine has landed. We tend to separate are sheerly delightful drinkers from our age-worthy meditative styles, but this Gamay provokes both ideas. The Gamay Noir is hand-harvested from a parcel in the Pence Ranch vineyard, fermented without destemming, and the processes in the winery are all gravity-fed with low sulfur additions to allow for the most pure expression of the fruit. Keeping consistent with what you would expect with a hands-off approach, there is no fining nor filtering here. Crushed forest berry fruits, mulled spices, orange peel, and black tea character contort into a silky, perfumed and bright-toned Gamay that rivals the most serious Cru Beaujolais. So, as we kick back this summer under the blistering Texas sun, this crushable, but cerebral Gamay Noir is perfect to beat the heat! - BF
