The van der Kamp Vineyard is a long-established site, with plantings dating back to 1952. Located on a north-facing plot on Sonoma Mountain, van der Kamp farms with biodiversity and sustainability in mind. The plot of land is absolutely stunning, surrounded on three sides by lush forests. Their organic mindset means the vineyard workers spend a significant amount of time and attention to detail preventing potential problems instead of triaging the effects by sorting after harvesting. Marchelle calls this wine a celebration of collaboration: Ulysses and Malia farm the vineyard, Greg La Follette and Kevin Lee’s Marchelle make the wine, and the wine itself is a collaboration of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. These grapes are commonly blended in Champagne but it’s uncommon to see them blended outside of sparkling wine. This bottling is remarkable, with tart cherry, fresh fall leaves, tart cranberry, and peppercorn spice blend. The Pinot Meunier excels in van der Kamp’s cooler Sonoma Mountain site, providing a unique tart cherry complexity to the Pinot Noir. The wine’s bright acidity is welcome in relation to its noticeably tannic structure. Although this is the most expensive wine I have tried from Marchelle’s lineup, it lives up to the higher price point.
Marchelle, Sonoma Mountain (Sonoma County, California) Pinot Noir 2021
By Vince Simmon