Wine time: Ferrari-Carano ’14 Sky High Ranch Pinot Noir

Ferrari-Carano is well known for Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, only in recent years creating a niche for  interesting Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley in Mendocino County.

Their 2014 Sky High Ranch Pinot Noir from the Mendocino Ridge is no exception. The grapes are grown 1,600 feet up – above the fog line – which provides for warm days and cool nights, prime Pinot conditions.

This Pinot is spicy and complex, with cherry cola, ginger, sassafrass and vanilla notes in the nose. The cola continues over to the mouth, with strawberry and cherry being rounded out by rhubarb and cloves. The acid is there, lending a funkiness that old world Burgundy enthusiasts would enjoy.

A young wine, it can be drunk now via decanting or cellared for another year.

The Ferrari-Carano 2014 Sky High Ranch Pinot Noir retails for $48. ferrari-carano.com