Anthill Farms Syrah

Anthill Farms is an exciting project that focuses on producing exceptional single vineyard wines from a broad range of North Coast vineyards. The properties are managed with intensive and meticulous farming practices, with minimal ecological impact. As for wine making, 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 Campbell Ranch vineyard is located a few miles from the Pacific Ocean, near the tiny town of Annapolis, and is farmed by Steve Campbell. At approximately 750 feet above sea level, it sits right at the boundary of the marine layer, ensuring that the cool, coastal climate delays ripening well beyond the warmer vineyards to the east. The two-decade-old vines grow on sandy, low-vigour Goldridge soil, which helps reduce yields to near two tons per acre.

"The team at Anthill Farms—Anthony Filiberti, Darren Low and Webster Marquez—met as cellar rats at Williams Selyem and later started their own label, focused on pinot noir, chardonnay and syrah from far-coast vineyards. Filiberti holds down a day job at Hirsch, and Low at The Withers—while Marquez left his post at Bluxome Street in 2015 to handle day-to-day winemaking at Anthill. They don’t make a lot of syrah, but what they do make is definite far-coast wine: This 2016 opens to pink-peppercorn spice, its fruit layering earth and animal scents into dark grape flavors, its cool tannins lending briskness and tension. If you love hiking on the Sonoma coast, this is a wine that will take you there." 93 points, Wine & Spirits

Anthill Farms Syrah