Martin's Lane 2017 Simes Vineyard Pinot Noir 750ml

The 2017 Pinot Noir Simes Vineyard was aged for 18 months in 28% new Austrian oak and comes in at 13.8% alcohol. This is sourced from 13-year-old vines from two parcels that are 1,375 to 1,475 feet above sea level. It is organic, but certification did not come until the 2019 vintage. As was the case last year, this is the bottling that often seems the most powerful, the tightest, the most likely to need some aging. It seems to have beautiful acidity, mid-palate finesse and a delicate demeanor—until the power kicks in. It's a little astringent on the finish. (True, the power came out on all of them in time. This was just a little faster and more obvious.) In many respects, this has a classic Pinot demeanor. There's some oak up front, but it becomes more transparent as it airs out. It just needs some time to open up. That may happen in a year, but I'd rather give it two or three. It should age well for a decade or more thereafter, but let's take that in stages. There isn't a lot of track record. There were 415 cases produced (25 for the USA market).

Score: 95 points -- Mark Squires, The Wine Advocate, 2022