Walter Hansel North Slope Pinot Noir 2023 - 750ml

93pts Jeb Dunnuck

The 2023 Pinot Noir The North Slope Vineyard reveals a more introspective and darker tone in the glass. It pours a ruby/magenta hue and is enveloping with notes of polished leather, ripe cherries, lavender perfume, and mossy earth. While medium-bodied, it fills the palate with a more expansive feel, ripe tannins that flesh out, and dark mineral notes building on the finish. It’s a more commanding wine in the range that will benefit from another year or so in cool cellars. Drink 2026-2036.

Winemaker Notes

This begins four feet from the end of the South slope and continues to slope to the North. It is 100% French clone 115. The close proximity to the South slope does not influence these flavors as clone 115 exhibits the most fruit driven flavors and appears more "New World" then French.

Winery Notes

My father, Walter, loved to grow everything from kiwi to oriental pears and more. In the 1970's he enlisted my help to plant 257 chardonnay vines. Throughout the 1980's our entire family would harvest the half acre of grapes and my father and I would make the wine; filling two barrels, which equaled 50 cases of wine. Initially these wines were hard to drink, but with the help of my friend, Tom Rochioli, I developed a passion to understand everything about the vineyards and the process of making wine. This passion influenced my quest for growing World-class wines. Since our first commercial vintage in 1996, I have learned with every harvest that you must listen to vine; react to Mother Nature and ALWAYS compromise quantity for quality.