97 Points
Classic

Wayfarer Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast Wayfarer 2019

The new 2019 Wayfarer Pinot Noir is a flamboyant, sexy effort displaying bright cherry, black raspberries, and creamy strawberry fruit intermixed with spring flowers. With amazing fruit, it is a sensuous, silky smooth Pinot that will impress with it’s gorgeous mouthfeel and plush tannins tonight after decanting or anytime over the next 5 – 7 years. – October 2022

Wayfarer Winery

Jayson Pahlmeyer crafted his first wine in 1986. His aim was to achieve a “California
Mouton,” and straight-from-the-source clones were – in his mind – a necessary
component. Working with viticulture professors at the University of Bordeaux over the
course of three years, Jayson obtained vine cuttings of the most ideal Bordeaux varieties
to produce the greatest intensity of flavor and complexity of character. The prize vine
cuttings were smuggled into California and planted in 1981. Several years later, Jayson
wowed the wine world with his debut vintage of Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red. In 1993,
Jayson recruited the great Helen Turley (Marcassin Vineyards) to make his consistently
award-winning wines.

Helen Turley discovered Wayfarer for sale in 1998, then an organic farm on the remote
Sonoma Coast. When she brought Jayson to the secluded property, he instantly sensed
it had all the essential elements to produce world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and
claimed the land as his own.

Jayson recruited David Abreu to plant Wayfarer, which he completed in 2002, and in
2005, Jayson started blending Wayfarer Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with fruit from
Russian River vineyards and bottling it under the Pahlmeyer moniker. With Jayson’s
daughter, Cleo Pahlmeyer, leading the charge and winemaker Todd Kohn lending his
talent, Wayfarer is an endeavor of true passion – an experiment that pushes the
exactitude of winegrowing and winemaking to the farthest limits.

The Wine

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Cellar Notes

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