Domaine Anderson Estate Pinot Noir 2021
Anderson Valley is one of California's great cool-climate Pinot addresses — fog rolling in off the Mendocino coast, long ripening, wines with tension rather than bulk. Domaine Anderson is the Roederer group's estate here, and it farms seriously: the home Dach vineyard is Demeter biodynamic and CCOF organic, the Walraven site certified organic too. This is genuine farming, not a label on the back.
The 2021 is 100% Pinot Noir, fermented with wild yeast in small lots and raised almost entirely in neutral oak, so there's no vanilla gloss over the fruit. Expect a deep garnet colour and a nose of strawberry and raspberry giving way to dark plum, orange zest, dried sage and a whiff of graphite and forest floor. The palate follows with boysenberry and blackberry, a black-olive savouriness and a twist of blood orange, carried on earthy, structured tannins to a long, dry close.
It is built to reward patience — give it a couple of years, or a good decant if you're opening one tonight.
How to Serve
Serve at 15–16°C in a broad Burgundy glass. Young and savoury, it opens up with thirty minutes' air; decant if you can.
Where to Drink It
Noble Rot in Soho for a room that takes New World Pinot as seriously as Burgundy. Or Brat in Shoreditch, where the wood-fired cooking loves a savoury red.
Food Pairings
Grilled duck breast with a smear of plum. Or roast quail, if you want to keep things delicate.
