Anthill Farms is a collaborative effort between three guys
who met while working at Williams Selyem in the Russian River Valley. They
joined forces in 2004. The three young winemaking partners, Anthony Filiberti,
Webster Marquez, and David Low, focus on extreme cool climate sites on the far
coast of Sonoma and Mendocino counties. The emphasis at Anthill Farms is on the vineyards and have named their
winery Anthill Farms to emphasize the many tiny individual vineyards
that form “the link between place and product.” The trio avoid calling
attention to themselves, preferring to bring notoriety to their
winegrowers. Wine & Spirits magazine wrote that
the team produced two of the most exciting syrahs that they tasted in 2011.
The 2009 Sonoma Coast Syrah
comes from the Peters Vineyard. The Peters Vineyards sits right outside
Sebastopol in western Sonoma County. Randy Peters and his father-in-law, Tom
Mukaida, farm this vineyard outside of Sebastopol in western Sonoma County. The
southern slopes of these hills form the northern edge of the Petaluma Gap,
which rushes cool, marine air from the Pacific Ocean inland. These Syrah and
Viognier vines, which Randy planted for them just a few years ago, occupy less
than an acre at the lowest edge of this cool, foggy vineyard. Originally an apple orchard, this vineyard was
replanted in the early 80's, has lots of hot, daily sun exposure but is close
enough to the coast to get morning and evening ocean fog. This cool, foggy
vineyard produces dense, meaty fruit that is fully developed and loaded with
complexity for an Hermitage-like expression. This vineyard's soil composition
is a rich Goldridge Sandy Loam.
Though Anthill Farms focuses on producing exceptional pinot
noir from a broad range of North Coast vineyards, their last few releases of syrah
caught our attention. The properties are managed with intensive and meticulous
farming practices, with minimal ecological impact. As for winemaking, there *are
two unchanging goals: to make wines that express the growing site and the
characteristics of the vintage above all else, and to make wines that, simply
put, taste good. These goals require gentle handling from crushing to bottling,
judicious use of oak, and, perhaps most importantly, leaving the wine alone as
much as possible.
The partners themselves farm many of the small plots where they buy their grapes, and the results of this labor of love are remarkably seductive wines that combine concentration and finesse. Because of the demand in their highly sought out wines, the company has grown from producing 200 cases in 2004 to 1,800 in 2009 to over 2700 in 2011. In 2009 Food & Wine Magazine named Anthill Winery the Most Promising New Winery.
The partners themselves farm many of the small plots where they buy their grapes, and the results of this labor of love are remarkably seductive wines that combine concentration and finesse. Because of the demand in their highly sought out wines, the company has grown from producing 200 cases in 2004 to 1,800 in 2009 to over 2700 in 2011. In 2009 Food & Wine Magazine named Anthill Winery the Most Promising New Winery.
The dark purple fruit, though rich, does not sit on the
palate at all heavy or flabby, but is expressive and keeps you digging your nose back down deep into
the glass again and again for another whiff of that black pepper spice.
This wine’s nose exhibits pronounced resinous aromatics
alongside a bouquet of morello cherry, violets, river stone, and meat. The mid palate
is simultaneously powerful and weightless.
The experts weigh in:
97 points - Wine &
Spirits:
'The body of this wine is straightforward. It's stemmy and meaty, what Syrah should taste like,' commented Eric Railsback of RN74... .The aroma of the wine is what kicked several tasters into overdrive, trying to capture their reaction in words. Taking a step back from the pure sensuality this offers as it plumps up with air, it's possible to imagine that stemminess evolving into the scents of green peppercorn, black peppercorn, basil and thyme, a high note of meadow flowers, intoxicating to smell. Meanwhile, the texture of the wine is about as luscious as it could get while the flavors remain savory. The tannins are fine, without any spike, creating a kind of effortless friction as if rubbing against the nap of velvet." (10/11)
'The body of this wine is straightforward. It's stemmy and meaty, what Syrah should taste like,' commented Eric Railsback of RN74... .The aroma of the wine is what kicked several tasters into overdrive, trying to capture their reaction in words. Taking a step back from the pure sensuality this offers as it plumps up with air, it's possible to imagine that stemminess evolving into the scents of green peppercorn, black peppercorn, basil and thyme, a high note of meadow flowers, intoxicating to smell. Meanwhile, the texture of the wine is about as luscious as it could get while the flavors remain savory. The tannins are fine, without any spike, creating a kind of effortless friction as if rubbing against the nap of velvet." (10/11)
93 points - Rhone
Report:
"Very peppery and gamey, the 2009 Anthill Farms Syrah Peters Vineyard has knockout cool-climate aromatics of peppered beef, violets, black raspberry, sappy herbs, and crushed rock like minerality on the nose. Similarly textured to the Sonoma Coast, with beautiful polish to the tannin, and a suppleness that keeps you coming back to the glass, it firms up nicely on the finish and should age for 7-8 years, if not longer. I'd like a touch more depth through the middle here, but this is still one solid bottle of wine. (Dec 2011)"
"Very peppery and gamey, the 2009 Anthill Farms Syrah Peters Vineyard has knockout cool-climate aromatics of peppered beef, violets, black raspberry, sappy herbs, and crushed rock like minerality on the nose. Similarly textured to the Sonoma Coast, with beautiful polish to the tannin, and a suppleness that keeps you coming back to the glass, it firms up nicely on the finish and should age for 7-8 years, if not longer. I'd like a touch more depth through the middle here, but this is still one solid bottle of wine. (Dec 2011)"
92 points - Josh
Raynolds (International Wine Cellar):
"Opaque purple. Shows a compelling array of red and dark berry and floral scents, with complicating spice and mineral nuances and an intriguing hint of apricot. Spicy, precise and energetic, with sappy raspberry and blackberry flavors, a jolt of cracked pepper and slow-mounting smokiness. The spice and floral qualities carry through an impressively long, insinuating finish, which leaves sweet red fruit notes behind. (May/Jun 2011)"
"Opaque purple. Shows a compelling array of red and dark berry and floral scents, with complicating spice and mineral nuances and an intriguing hint of apricot. Spicy, precise and energetic, with sappy raspberry and blackberry flavors, a jolt of cracked pepper and slow-mounting smokiness. The spice and floral qualities carry through an impressively long, insinuating finish, which leaves sweet red fruit notes behind. (May/Jun 2011)"
Sonoma Coast
The Sonoma Coast AVA in California is an extensive wine region stretching from San Pablo Bay to Mendocino County and covering an area of 500,000 acres (202,000ha). The Pacific Ocean is the main influence on the cool climate here, bringing lots of rain and foggy mornings. There was a time when the region's climate was deemed too cool and marginal for growing grapes. However, most vineyards are planted on ridges, keeping them above the fog and exposing them to the ripening forces of the sun.
The Sonoma Coast AVA in California is an extensive wine region stretching from San Pablo Bay to Mendocino County and covering an area of 500,000 acres (202,000ha). The Pacific Ocean is the main influence on the cool climate here, bringing lots of rain and foggy mornings. There was a time when the region's climate was deemed too cool and marginal for growing grapes. However, most vineyards are planted on ridges, keeping them above the fog and exposing them to the ripening forces of the sun.
