Wending Home Estate Vineyard Up Above Wismer-Cuesta Pinot Noir 2021

There is no Pinot Noir grown at Wending Home, so Giesbrecht chose a vineyard that was just ‘up above’ his childhood home. The grapes are sourced from the Wismer-Cuesta Vineyard, located on the south side of Old Highway 8 between Vineland and Jordan on the Twenty Mile Bench, with aging half in puncheon and half in barrique (16% new oak) for 8-9 months and it was partially wild fermented. The vineyard was planted in the mid-1990s to Clone 777. It has an attractive, perfumed nose with earthy dark cherries, brambly black raspberries, violets, some anise, darker berries, spice and what Giesbrecht calls ‘iron/bloody’ minerality. It has lovely texture, smooth tannins, and energy on the palate with ripe red berries, underlying earthy/savoury notes, crunchy pomegranate, anise, and razor-sharp acidity through a long, lifted finish. Good structure here for short-term, say four to five years, cellaring. Score – 92. (Rick VanSickle, winesinniagara.com, Jan. 3, 2024)