2016 Donelan Family Wines Hidden Gem Devoto Vineyard Pinot Noir - SoCo Barrel Auction Lot

WINEMAKER: Joe Nielsen

Donelan Family were made famous by their phenomenal, 100-point Syrahs, but their Pinot Noirs, especially this one, will also knock your socks off. Elegant and concise, with rich tannins, the 2016 Devoto Pinot has flavors of black cherries and pomegranate, with plenty of minerality and acidity to make it wonderfully balanced. This is the only time they have ever made a single vineyard Pinot from Devoto.

The team at Donelan Family Wines maintains that the best wine comes from unique sites. They apply their knowledge and experience toward identifying not only optimal vineyards, but also the most desirable qualities in each block, parcel and row. Donelan is not interested in making the average of any single vineyard (even if it’s very good). Instead, they isolate the best of the best by segmenting vineyards based on natural variation within even the smallest sites. Their journey has taken them from producing exceptional Rhône varietal wines, to seeking out Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards tucked away across this diverse county. 

Along this journey Donelan discovered a beautiful site farmed by local apple grower, Stan Devoto. Situated west of Sebastopol on a 450-foot bluff of Goldridge soil, the vineyard produces small, tight clusters of intense dark fruit. This never-before bottling, sourced from a one acre plot of Clone 667, illustrates Donelan Family Wines’ desire to produce a captivating single-vineyard wine from a highly-unique, rarified terroir you simply won’t find anywhere else.