Walter Hansel Winery Walter Hansel The North Slope Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022 750ml

The 2022 Pinot Noir The North Slope Vineyard is quite dark and brooding in feel. Black cherry, plum, spice, leather, lavender, game and mocha add to an impression of somber intensity. Give this a year or two to soften. Clone 777 Pinot yields a wine of notable breadth here.<br/><br/>

The 2022 Pinot Noir The North Slope Vineyard is entirely from the 115 clone and pours a darker ruby/magenta color. Raised in 24% new French oak, and the rest in one-year-old François Frère barrels, the wine is toasty with notes of incense, scorched forest floor, ripe black cherries, and a touch of licorice. Medium-bodied, it fills the palate with ripe tannins and a juicy feel, its toasty spice lasting on the finish. It’s going to have a wide drinking window over the next 5-6 years. 511 cases produced.

The 2019 Pinot Noir The North Slope Vineyard offers lovely mid-palate depth to play off strong floral, savory notes. I find the North Slope a bit uncharacteristic in its vegetal character, which I suspect is related to machine harvesting for some of this fruit. (Antonio Galloni)