Pilcrow was founded by wine-industry veterans Jonah and Sara Beer. Raised in the United States by European parents, Sara discovered her passion for food, wine, and travel early in life. Taking on the role of winemaker was a new one for Sara. She has been the grateful beneficiary of tremendous tutoring from many role models, mentors, and friends. Her role models include those who have made some of the great wines dotting the hillsides of the Napa Valley; think Mayacamas, Diamond Creek, and Dunn. Her mentors include some of the most thoughtful vintners in both the new world and the old, including John Williams, Jean-Michel Comme, and Jean-Nicolas Meo. Her friends—including Marco DiGiulio, Keith Emerson and Toshiaki Wakayama—have helped define, challenge, and develop the wine itself.
Granite Lake does not just reside in the Howell Mountain AVA, it is on the ridgeline of the mountain itself. The soils of this organically farmed vineyard are dusty and red, rich in iron and volcanic debris deposited during the valley's turbulent, secondary eruptions. Combining this low-vigor soil, 10% slope and 2,300 feet of elevation and you have the perfect recipe for a classically-styled Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Granite Lake Cabernet Sauvignon interprets this terroir construct with friendly but firm tannins paired with low pH and bright acidity. Sitting above the fog line adds a sense of warm, red fruits (think: raspberry, strawberry and plum) that is balanced with a sense of red rose, rainwater-minerality, and herb. The mostly used barrique allows for the structure of the wine to be predominantly fruit-based which gives it the dual personality and promise of long life in the cellar and dynamic, hour-by-hour changes in the glass.
ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE 95 POINTS - "The husband-and-wife team behind Pilcrow Wine is Jonah and Sara Beer, a duo who spent much of their wine-working lives with Buckhorn and Frog's Leap, respectively. They started Pilcrow in 2014, with a view toward making wines akin to the old-school Cabernets they enjoyed so much. 'Our goal was to get in the DeLorean with Doc Brown and go back to the 1950s,' said Jonah. 'Mayacamas and Bob Travers were a source of inspiration. We believe that those old wines showed more uniqueness than current wines.' "
"My favorite of the 2022s from Pilcrow is the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Granite Lake, which originates high atop Howell Mountain. Crushed stone, fir branches and blueberries make an intense impression on the nose, while the palate is medium- to full-bodied, with just enough flesh to be welcoming, framed by ripe, silky tannins that linger through the extended finish."
Granite Lake does not just reside in the Howell Mountain AVA, it is on the ridgeline of the mountain itself. The soils of this organically farmed vineyard are dusty and red, rich in iron and volcanic debris deposited during the valley's turbulent, secondary eruptions. Combining this low-vigor soil, 10% slope and 2,300 feet of elevation and you have the perfect recipe for a classically-styled Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Granite Lake Cabernet Sauvignon interprets this terroir construct with friendly but firm tannins paired with low pH and bright acidity. Sitting above the fog line adds a sense of warm, red fruits (think: raspberry, strawberry and plum) that is balanced with a sense of red rose, rainwater-minerality, and herb. The mostly used barrique allows for the structure of the wine to be predominantly fruit-based which gives it the dual personality and promise of long life in the cellar and dynamic, hour-by-hour changes in the glass.
ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE 95 POINTS - "The husband-and-wife team behind Pilcrow Wine is Jonah and Sara Beer, a duo who spent much of their wine-working lives with Buckhorn and Frog's Leap, respectively. They started Pilcrow in 2014, with a view toward making wines akin to the old-school Cabernets they enjoyed so much. 'Our goal was to get in the DeLorean with Doc Brown and go back to the 1950s,' said Jonah. 'Mayacamas and Bob Travers were a source of inspiration. We believe that those old wines showed more uniqueness than current wines.' "
"My favorite of the 2022s from Pilcrow is the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Granite Lake, which originates high atop Howell Mountain. Crushed stone, fir branches and blueberries make an intense impression on the nose, while the palate is medium- to full-bodied, with just enough flesh to be welcoming, framed by ripe, silky tannins that linger through the extended finish."
