Notes from the Archivist

"King's Hand"

Like Sancho Panza to Don Quixote or the cowbell to the drum track, even the top 100-point winemakers have a sidekick. Someone working in the shadows, ensuring they stay on top of their game.

And the young wunderkind to Napa’s “King Midas” is one of the best right hands in the game. This young winemaker has been churning out great wines as the Director of Winemaking under the King for over a decade and there’s a good chance you’ve tasted his efforts even if you didn’t realize it.

And when he’s not helping craft many a 95-100 pointer, he makes a few hundred cases of his own. Our “King’s Hand” Pinot comes straight from his personal project. It’s a great wine at $75. And an outstanding value under $40.

This flashes a similar style to our first Pinot and bears the same West Sonoma Coast designation. Sourced from a single vineyard which we cannot share, the savvy among you might already be formulating an answer to that piece of the puzzle. It pours a dark, deep purple-red in the glass and delivers a fairly rich style. 

Well stocked with strawberry jam, rhubarb pie, a kiss of cocoa butter and dusting of nutmeg, wisps of wild herbs, and seamless oak all flowing through an enduring finish. While it takes a more decadent direction, it’s dense and concentrated but never sappy or heavy.

An all-around pedigreed and well-honed Pinot, ready to impress now, and for years to come. 

Like all of our releases, the supply is finite. This is likely the last 2024 Pinot offering we’ll have this year. We claimed our own share, and the rest is yours!