2012 Pinot Noir The Traveler

Jayson Pahlmeyer purchased Wayfarer Vineyard in 1999 at the urging of Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer. The property sits in the new Fort Ross-Seaview AVA, just two ridges away from the Pacific. David Abreu planted the first vineyards in 2001. For the first few years the fruit from Wayfarer was blended into the Pahlmeyer wines, but beginning in 2012 the Wayfarer wines are being bottled separately. So far, there are three Pinots and one Chardonnay, but I am told there may be more wines in the near future. Cleo Pahlmeyer, Jayson's daughter, continues her strategy to differentiate the family's Sonoma and Napa wines. The Napa wines continue to be made by Kale Anderson, while the Sonoma wines are now made by Bibiana Gonzalez-Rave. The proof is in the pudding, and certainly this greater focus seems to be paying dividends. Simply put, the new Wayfarer wines are brilliant. Bibiana Gonzalez-Rave, the super-talented Colombian winemaker whom I have written about in the past, uses a bit of a lighter touch, including less overt oak influence at Wayfarer than she does with the Pahmleyer Pinots and Chardonnays, where the style is a bit more laid back than in the past, but still respectful of the Helen Turley/Erin Green legacy. Within the context of Sonoma Coast Pinot, the Wayfarer wines are textured, deep and intense, but not at all heavy. No detail has been overlooked, so it is hardly a surprise to see how well these wines have turned out. Today, there are a lot of new projects on the Sonoma Coast. Wayfarer is easily among the most exciting.