Anthill Farms Sonoma Coast Peters Vineyards Syrah 2019
With some artisan cheeses, biscuits and berry fruit compote we pulled from the cellar this interesting limited production Syrah that we just acquired and were eager to try, for casual sipping.
This is from producer with the strange name, Anthill Farms Vineyards. While they focus on producing ultra-premium Pinot Noir from a broad range of North Coast vineyards they also produce some limited release Syrah from just two small vineyards. They strive to produce wines that express the growing site and the characteristics of the vintage above all else, and wines that, “simply put, taste good”.
Anthill Farms Winery partner Webster Marquez says, “We didn’t know whether the name was really great or really dumb. It came about because we’re all winemakers and people would see us all scrambling around trying to grab the same hose at once; they said it was like watching a bunch of ants.”
The trio of ants is Marquez, Anthony Filiberti and David Low who met while working at Sonomas Williams Selyem.
The partners farm many of the small plots where they buy their grapes, and the results of this labor of love are remarkably seductive wines that combine concentration and finesse. Their website profiles nine different vineyard sources for their Pinot Noir, and two for their Syrah.
The company has grown from producing just 200 cases in their first release in 2004 to 1,800.
Their wines have become ever more in demand, partly due to being recognized as Food & Wine Magazines Most Promising New Winery 2009
The Peters Vineyards lies in the Sonoma Coast AVA where coastal vineyards are marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes.
The vineyard’s soil composition, rich in sandy loam with excellent drainage.
Fruit for this label is sourced from Randy Peter’s Vineyard which he farms with his father-in-law, Tom Mukaida. It sits just outside of Sebastopol in western Sonoma County near the coast where the southern slopes of the hills form the northern edge of the Petaluma Gap. There, the ‘marine layer’ and effects of cool breezes from the Pacific Ocean rush inland.
The vines, planted over thirty years ago, produce grapes that ripen unusually slowly due to the oft-present morning fog.
The Syrah vines are interplanted with Viognier, which was put in specifically for Anthill Farms a few years ago. They occupy less than an acre at the lowest edge of this cool, foggy vineyard. The entire block produced just above three tons of fruit.
And Erin Brooks of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, and 93 points from Decanter..
