Wayfarer 'Mother Rock' Pinot Noir 2023 750ml

Product Info

98pts Audrey Frick, Jeb Dunnuck, July 2025
The 2023 Pinot Noir Mother Rock is a dark magenta color and comes from shallow soils, giving a more mineral character to the wine, with a sanguine lift to its notes of gravelly earth, pine, black raspberries, compact berries, peppery spice, and rosemary. Medium-bodied, it has a saturating and pure feel, with ripe tannins, mouthwatering tension, pure, shining fruit, bright violet highlights, and dark mineral notes that last on the finish. Drink it over the coming 15-20 years.

97pts Antonio Galloni, Vinous, January 2025
The 2023 Pinot Noir Mother Rock is a blend of co-fermented Mount Eden and 777 clones. Aromatic and savory, the 2023 impress with its poise and vivid, articulate fruit. Red/purplish berry fruit, chalk, mint, lavender, sage and dried hers all take shape in the glass. Brisk acids punctuate the deep, resonant finish, with light accents from the 10% stems that linger. The Mother Rock was aged in equal parts 500L and 228L barrels.

96pts James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, September 2025
Juicy and packed, with mulberry, boysenberry and loganberry coulis notes melded together. There’s a sleek feel to the structure, which is well-embedded, letting the fruit hold center stage with aplomb. The finish shimmers with singed anise, blood orange zest and rooibos tea accents. A head-turning Pinot Noir. Best from 2026 through 2038. 140 cases made.

Tasting Notes
A rich ruby in the glass, the 2023 Pinot Noir ‘Mother Rock’ is extraordinarily perfumed, presenting layered aromas of Morello cherry, crushed violet petals, black tea leaf, cocoa powder and dusty red earth. Focused fruit character and savory notes beautifully intertwine, bolstered by velvety and supple tannin. A vibrant and lifted acidity persists through to a lengthy finish, showcasing the tension between bright fruit and the minerality indicative of Mother Rock.

About Mother Rock
Harvested from vines along two perpendicular ridgelines where our soil is the shallowest, the vine roots reach deep into the sandstone bedrock. Mother Rock expresses purity of fruit and intensity of flavor while maintaining nerve and precision and a distinctive mineral finish.  It is a co-fermentation of two clonal selections, Mt. Eden and Dijon 777.

Winemaking Notes
Each block was picked by hand at night, and firm, cool clusters were delivered to the winery before sunrise.  We sorted the clusters by hand and reserved 10% for whole-cluster fermentation.  The remainder of the fruit was destemmed before we transferred it into a stainless steel tank for five days of cold maceration. Fermentation was carried out by native yeast, and we punched the cap down by hand, with the frequency and technique determined by tasting each tank daily.  The free run wine aged in 228L French oak barrels, 58% new, for 15 months prior to bottling.  Blocks: 3, 11 Clones: Dijon 777, Mount Eden

Vintage Notes
Moderate and extended vintages like we experienced in 2023 are ideal for producing classically styled wines with great aging potential. The 2023 vintage began with a cool and wet spring, delaying budbreak weeks later than usual. A mild May and June extended the bloom period nearly three weeks, further delaying an already late vintage. July and August brought warmth and sunshine with above average temperatures driving berry development and ripening, before transitioning into cooler weather in September. Harvest began on September 25th and carried well into October, ending on the 16th, our latest harvest on record. The temperate yet sunny days post-veraison created beautiful flavor and tannin development while retaining freshness and compelling savory notes. The 2023 Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays shine with finesse and quiet power, truly nuanced, multi-dimensional wines.