Every year Les Alliés evolves naturally by “uncovering” itself. After the long, steady fermentations are complete, we decide that some very special barrels are stand-outs, and by consensus, the most exceptional of our Rieslings and Pinots. This is the consensus that makes up Les Alliés — the allies, the partners, the united ones. We don’t “make” Les Alliés, we discover it together, and it’s an easy decision because it tells us what it wants to be.
2020 Pinot Noir Les Alliés
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Certain wines are worth the wait. Only when the stars and moon align, or when moved by something that feels otherworldly, are we inspired to produce a Les Alliés bottling. It has been five vintages since our last Pinot Noir Les Alliés cuvée. Five vintages since tasting through our red barrels and serendipitously sharing a collective enthusiasm for a few standouts. Les Alliés abounds with meaning. It translates to “the friends, the allies, the united ones,” and signifies our partnerships—the collaboration of Louis Barruol and Rick Rainey, our international bond between the United States and France, and our relationships with local growers and the community.
We like to frame this wine as a traveling, seasonal exhibition with limited tickets available. It’s full of spectacle and surprise, always on the move to highlight a unique blend of sites in each bottling. By nature, it must be a standout, worthy of its own showcase. Its ability to bring forth a clear picture of terroir and unite it with a profile that tempts with intrigue and uniqueness can only be the work of a true master of its craft, a true artiste.
DETAILS
Harvest Dates: Sept. 22-25
Soils: clay, limestone and shale
Hand-harvested and hand-sorted
Fermented with partial whole cluster in wooden vat
Alcohol: 12.5% by vol.
Production: 51 cases