Medium ruby color; cherry, tart raspberry, strawberry, plum, pomegranate, blackberry, cola, oak, vanilla, soft earthiness, tea on the nose and palate.
Dry; smooth, tasty tannins; good, bright acidity (3.65 pH). Medium body. Interesting raspberry-blackberry nip of tartness late in the mid-palate and on the extended finish. Good balance. Grapes from Sonoma County—ten different clones of pinot—were hand-picked, then fermented in small, cool-temperature stainless steel. Reserved oak. Wine aged nine months in 25% new French wood. This is the 13th vintage of Banshee’s Sonoma County pinot. Banshee has dialed back oak on consecutive vintages, delivering more elegance and refinement and allowing the nice fruit to make its statement. 13.8% ABV
Banshee traces its roots to a bar in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood in 2009. Three friends—Steve Graf, Baron Ziegler, and Noah Dorrance from the Midwest and East Coast—shared a passion for wine and a lifelong dream of owning their own winery. They do not own land, but have lease agreements with vineyards to provide the fruit. Alicia Sylvester is the Banshee head winemaker.
With money borrowed from friends and family, the proprietors made eight barrels of Sonoma Coast pinot noir. Their goal was to make quality pinot at an affordable price. By 2013 they were able to open a tasting room in downtown Healdsburgh. The winery asserts it is: “a refreshing and relaxed take on your typical tasting room. It’s more like hanging out at their house and sharing some wine with family, rather than bellying up to an ever-crowed tasting bar.”
The website continues: “Our main focus for Pinot Noir is on the cool, rugged, coastal areas of the far Western Sonoma Coast. Each vineyard has a unique combination of a specific oceanic influence, soil type, elevation, age and exposure but the common thread is that they allow us to pursue Pinot that achieves power without weight. They allow the grapes to express a certain transparency. They highlight a wide range of flavors other than just fruit. Forest floor, pine, tea, mushroom, spice, minerals.”
Banshee entered into a strategic partnership with Foley Family Wines in 2018. Banshee CEO Baron Ziegler: “The partnership of our two companies will provide Banshee access to grapes from premium FFW vineyards located in the best growing regions along the California coast, while also providing Banshee access to Foley Family Wine’s vast network of sales and distribution.”
Banshee Pinot Noir, Sonoma County 2021 is elegant, balanced, tasty, fruit-forward delight. Simple, no complex layers, but the wine is a delight for what it is: a relaxed, pleasurable red wine adventure that see-saws between fruity sweetness and tartness from the raspberry, cherry, and blackberry elements. Excellent QPR (quality-price ratio). Quality pinot noir is hard to make in this price range. Banshee figured it out.
Can easily be enjoyed as a solo sipper or as a companion to a charcuterie board and genteel conversation. Pair with lighter beef cuts; veal; grilled lamb chops; salmon and other fish and seafood; turkey and poultry in general, not fried; bacon/sausage and eggs breakfast if you want to go all-in decadent. Cheese—washed-rind cheeses; nutty cheeses; gruyere; taleggio; avoid intense cheeses as they could overwhelm this pour. $18-30
