$64.99 on 6+ bottles (code: 6saves5)

93+ pts Vinous
The 2022 Pinot Noir Witness Tree tempts the imagination with a beguiling blend of sweet herbs and autumnal spice, complemented by zests of blood orange and dried blueberries. It’s seamlessly silky and lifted in feel, with a saline tinge of minerality up front that adds lovely contrast to the masses of ripe red berry fruits within. Long and potent, this leaves a saturation of grippy tannins and a bump of residual acidity, creating a structured yet wildly fresh finale as hints of citrus and a chalky sensation slowly fade. With so much complexity and vibrancy as well, the 2022 is sure to win a lot of hearts. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2034 - By Eric Guido on May 2024

The 2022s from Will Hamilton at Violin show just how special this vintage can be from the right sources and in the right hands. In this case, fruit sourced from vineyards that avoided any damage from the spring frost. Together with lower yields and picking earlier for freshness, 2022 resulted in a savory set of well-structured and complex wines. Hamilton didn’t have to contend with secondary buds due to frost, or the issue of overabundance that plagued some wineries; he had all of his fruit in before the threat of rain during harvest. This was a truly satisfying portfolio to taste through. The use of new oak is minimal. Balance and purity are front and center, while alcohol levels hover in the 12.5-13% range for Chardonnay and the low 13% range for Pinot Noir. “Wine should be delicious, first and foremost. I want to find purity, and I’m not a fan of new oak,” Hamilton explains. He points out that “Two thousand twenty-two wasn’t a frost year for us. It was just a really late vintage. Late budding, late flowering and late harvest.” Personally, I can’t recommend Violin highly enough. The single-vineyard wines are fantastic, but don’t pass up the chance to taste the Polk County Cuvée, a Pinot Noir that blends fruit from Temperance Hill, Witness Tree, Justice and Sojeau Vineyards with vines that average 25 years old.

Our tasting note:
Med/med+ ruby core with lighter ruby edges. The nose is pronounced, spicy, rose petal florals, red cherry, raspberry, stony notes.  The palate is medium bodied, medium grain, youthful tannins give a fine frame of structure, well integrated acidity.  The palate is medium+, persistent, with the fruit and roses leading the way to a long, fresh finish.

Notes From Vineyard
The East facing older vines on the bench near the top of Witness Tree were some of the first vines to bloom in our portfolio, and were picked on the 15th of September to capture as much freshness as possible. As we’ve come to expect from mature vines, the maturity of tannin brings a sense of depth that younger vines seem to lack. As this will be our last vintage working with the site, we are excited to find the mature vines hit a special balance in 2022. Bottled from only two barrels, one new, the luxurious sense of warmth and richness forms the perfect foil to the soulful fruit and savory underbelly. Aged for nearly 15 months in barrel before several weeks in stainless steel prior to late January bottling.

Spiced dark berry fruit, fresh and bright against an ample dose of savory lactone that brings energy and breadth to the aromas. Immediately full of tension, a nervy acid core extending through the middle of fleshy, elegant but firm tannin. The build is obvious and strong, producing a wine crying for age but maintaining more subtle fruit and deceptive persistence. A sense of luxury pervades around the expressive, earthy, and complete core.

• 45 cases and 12 magnums produced
• 13.2% alcohol

Bottled from only two barrels, one new, the luxurious sense of warmth and richness forms the perfect foil to the soulful fruit and savory underbelly. Aged for nearly 15 months in barrel before several weeks in stainless steel prior to late January bottling.