Antica Terra Antikythera 2012
Antica Terra Antikythera 2012
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Antica Terra Antikythera 2012

Antica Terra
$440.00

Grape: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2012
Type: Red

This estate Pinot Noir comes from the Antica Terra vineyard, a site in the Eola-Amity Hills characterized by pre-fractured sandstone and volcanic soils. Winemaker Maggie Harrison manages this steep plot using organic principles, allowing the vines to struggle through the thin topsoil to build natural concentration. The hand-harvested fruit is fermented with a high proportion of whole clusters using indigenous wild yeasts. It ages for over a year in French oak barriques, focusing on a savory, soil-driven architecture over sweet fruit extraction.

It pours a light garnet color with brick-red reflections at the rim, opening with aromas of dried cherry, tobacco leaf, and iron. On the palate, the medium-bodied frame showcases a fine-grained, chalky tannin structure that has integrated over a decade of cellaring. A vibrant, limestone-like acidity keeps the aged profile fresh, tense, and light on its feet. It finishes bone-dry and long, leaving a mouthwatering mineral trace.

Maggie Harrison is a first-generation winemaker, having grown up in the Midwest. With an educational background in International Relations and Conflict Resolution, she fell in love with wine while working in restaurants and set out to follow that passion and create wine. She went on to land the position of assistant winemaker to Manfred Krankl at Sine Qua Non, where she remained for eight years. She is currently the co-owner and winemaker for Antica Terra, producing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay since 2005, and is also responsible for the Syrah at Lillian Winery in Santa Barbara. Initially, it had been her goal to only produce a singular wine, but during blind tastings for blending, she felt the various components would not necessarily complement one another and would overpower or detract from the other. Rather than force them to homogenize, each of the wines bottled today chases the individual and opposing personalities each possesses. Her wines are impeccably expressive and worth seeking out if you can get your hands on them.

I have always found with these wines that I am never compelled to overly coax the wine in tasting. They are distinctive, singular wines that, when given the time to allow the wine to come to you, make the transcendence to art.

- Audrey Frick (9/17/2023) © 2024 Jeb Dunnuck