The last vintage that Greg and Steve will be making of this wine as they focus more on their own estate vineyards, the 2011 Pinot Noir Ampelos is a rich, layered effort that has ripe dark berry, cocoa, warm spices and autumn leaf-like qualities all emerging from the glass. This medium-bodied effort has firm underlying structure and solid focus through the finish and it should age nicely on its overall balance. Drink 2015-2021.
A benchmark estate in the Santa Rita Hills, these first rate efforts are made by Steve Clifton and Greg Brewer. The wines are all handled identically in the cellar, so what you get is exactly what the vineyard delivers. In addition, this estate is moving to only estate-farmed vineyards, with Gnesa, Machado, 3-D and Hapgood being the only single-vineyard releases going forward. These 2011s are fantastic and should not be missed!
Tel. (805) 735-9184; www.brewerclifton.com