Marcassin
Marcassin is founded by the pioneering American wine-maker / consultant Helen Turley and her husband John Wetlaufer, who is a viticulturist. From 1992 until 2011 the various wines were produced at Martinelli Winery because at that time, Marcassin did not have its own winery.
Situated on the Sonoma Coast in California (USA), Marcassin only uses Pinot Noir (red) and Chardonnay (white) grapes to produce its wines. Yields are extremely low, the grapes are picked very late and there is a severe selection in the vineyards. Both the red and the white wines are able to compete with the best Burgundies at Grand Cru level.
Marcassin is the french word for a young wild boar, which is depicted at some of their labels. Both the Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir spend 12 months in new oak barrels and they are bottled unfiltered. The wines will spend another 5 years in bottle before they are released on the market. Production is unfortunately very limited, because the average annual production is less than 3000 cases in total.
Unless you are on the mailing list, it is almost impossible to get your hands on a bottle of Marcassin. The wines got various outstanding reviews from the international wine critics and some vintages merit the perfect score.
Outstanding vintages for the Marcassin Estate Chardonnay are 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013. For the Pinot Noir: 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2012 vintage.
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