Masút Vineyard and Winery, Mendocino County (California) Pinot Noir 2016

 Ben and Jake Fetzer, grandsons of famed Barney Fetzer who made Fetzer Vineyards a household name in the 1990s, founded Masút Vineyard and Winery in 2009 to focus on Pinot Noir.  Their father had purchased 1,200 acres in Mendocino County, which the sons planted — they have 35-acres devoted to Pinot Noir — and eventually established the Eagle Peak appellation. Masút, a Native-American word, means “dark rich earth,” according to their website, is the only winery in the appellation.  The name of the winery aptly describes the character of their Pinot Noir.  It’s a robust, ripe wine — yet, thankfully, not in the overdone “Pinot Syrah” category — that still exhibits the spicy oak-influence of youth.  Supple and suave, those who like intensity in their Pinot Noir will embrace it.