Fossil & Fawn "Dark Wave" 2021

Fresh raspberries, wild blueberries, black plums, Branca Menta, wet river rocks and menthol on the nose with an irony/earthy finish. They say it's the best wine they've made. 60% Pinot noir, 40% Gamay noir from Marin Estate Vineyard (farmed by Javier Marin and his sons, Erik and Alex). 100% whole cluster fermented in boxes designed for the fishing industry (turns out they work really well for wine too), a trick that the winemakers learned from the genius Jesus Guillen. After a week of carbonic maceration, the wine saw daily pumpovers for the next three weeks. Impressive from the beginning of fermentation all the way through its time in barrel, Dark Wave is deeply-pigmented with loads of stemmy structure and rich fruit, held in check with nervy acidity.