Waits-Mast Family Cellars Nash Mill Pinot Noir 2018
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Typical of this cool, foggy site surrounded by tall conifer the 2018 Nash Mill has a beautiful garnet color in the glass. As it opens up, the wine delivers intense aromas of pomegranate, lavender, and dried sage. The mouth-filling palate reveals spices of cracked pepper and clove, as well as juicy red plum and taut tannins. This wine is just beginning to express itself and a little time in the cellar would certainly be rewarded.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
This elegant, silky smooth, unfiltered wine tastes of savory-spicy and feels broad and deep on the palate. It went through a native fermentation and was aged 15 months in 21% new French barrels. There are mellow mulled plums, woodsy notes and hints of cinnamon on a medium to full body soothed by fine-grained tannins.
Editors' Choice -
James Suckling
Aromas of raspberry marmalade, toasted sage and white pepper. Medium-bodied with refreshing, well-integrated tannins and bright acidity. Sleek and well composed.
Other Vintages
2016-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine &
Spirits
Waits-Mast Family Cellars was founded by Brian Mast and Jennifer Waits in 2005. Before they started making wines they were geeky & passionate wine consumers. Many weekend getaways were spent exploring wineries across California and overseas in France, Switzerland and New Zealand.
By 2000, they started attending the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival and exploring the winemaking scene by sitting in on the event’s technical conference. The Pinot Noir immersion that weekend, along with the warm and welcoming wine community of Anderson Valley, prompted them to make the shift from wine geeks to wine producers.
Their first commercial wine, a 2007 Pinot Noir from Wentzel Vineyard in Anderson Valley, was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle Top 100 Wines issue. The wines are featured on wine lists of some of the top restaurants in the country and have been well-received by the press, with inclusions in the San Francisco Chronicle Top 100 Wines of 2014, Wine & Spirits "Year's Best Pinot Noir", and Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 Cellar Selections among others. The wines are crafted in San Francisco with the expertise of our winemaker Shalini Sekhar, who was included in the San Francisco Chronicle's 2019 Winemakers to Watch.
Anderson Valley, located in Mendocino County just above Sonoma County, is one of California’s coolest AVAs, allowing it a long growing season. Only 15 miles long, the region makes a slice eastward through the mountains, from the frigid Pacific Ocean. Dramatic diurnal temperature variations here preserve grape acidity and thus freshness in the finished wines. These are prime conditions for growing Pinot Noir, and the valley produces many fine versions. Characteristics of Anderson Valley Pinot Noir typically include crisp acidity, cranberry and strawberry notes as well as earthy notes of forest floor and mushroom.
Still Pinot Noir, however, is only part of the story. Pinot Noir, along with Chardonnay, are also grown for Anderson Valley’s exceptional sparkling wines. Produced via the traditional method, these offer a classic toasty note from lees aging, bright, complex fruit notes and a clean, refreshing character.