I received the offer for the 2011 Anthill fall release. I’ve never had any of these wines, but seeking board advice as I’ve seen good reviews. Wines offered appear to be:
Thoughts?
I haven’t tasted their 2011’s, but all of these should be good wines. In my experience, these are their top three SV Pinots. And there wasn’t a major fire in Anderson Valley in 2011, so the appellation pinot should be good, too. ![[stirthepothal.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/f40faec63ca1018898a40805efbf9f0066a3d205.gif "[stirthepothal.gif]"){kind=small}
Anthill Farms is on the lighter side of CA Pinot. I like them.
This was my first offer from them and I absolutely can’t buy. I really wanted to try them. 
I’m going to be disappointed to miss this one, but I’ve been buying from them for 5 years or so, and hopefully they’ll be cool about me skipping one.
The wines are typically lovely. Light red fruited and feminine, much more about elegance and finesse than either ripeness/power or funkiness/rusticity. One other thing to recommend them is that I can’t think of another California pinot that is very similar to them; they seem to have staked out a unique spot on the style spectrum. (Though of course I haven’t tasted everything out there)
They seem like they should probably age well, but there isn’t really a track record yet, and frankly they always seem to drink well right from the start.
I think their pricing is on the fairer side for California pinot of that quality, with SVDs still mostly under $50.
Happy exploring.
LOVE their Anderson Valley SVD. can’t go wrong with what they do with their AV fruit as long as its not from 2008. Zing.
Find their AV offerings to be the most enjoyable, most nuanced.
Syrah! Hooray!!!
Thanks gents for your feedback. These guys sound like they’re worth a shot. I’m still trying to figure out how much I really like PN’s - still eager to explore.
The last vintage of syrah was great QPR at $18. Really nice lighter style with mineral undertones.
Syrah is my favorite, so I’ll look forward to picking up some, especially at that price.
Scott-this is a great producer to explore.
Scott, if you’re unsure and want to cherry pick, go for the Abbey-Harris and Comptche. I like all of their AV pinots though.
I did get an email notification from anthill. Trying to figure out what i should go for. Especially when i dont know what my offer is exactly. The abby harris and camptche look very nice.
I’m going to give them a shot, especially given the good pricing, but I’m curious if they will come off as too light with not enough fruit. Also, the reviews on CT and Prince of Pinot are okay, but nothing stellar. Guess that’s why it’s worth trying.
Scott, no shortage of fruit at all on the Anthill pinots - personally I find them more fruit forward than Copain, Rhys, etc.
I can’t speak to the 2011 AVs, but in general, the wines have enough fruit for wine geeks and civilians alike. It’s just that it’s more fresh strawberry / red cherry type fruit, not anything dark or dense.
Scott, I know that all the cool kids on WB say they prefer the AV over the Sonoma, but the Sonoma SVDs are really good and probably have broader appeal, while still staying firmly in the style I’ve been describing in this thread. If I were introducing you to AF, I’d probably pour you a Sonoma SVD first time around. Which isn’t to say these ones might not be great and to your liking.
That’s because you’d be stashing away the AV for yourself 
had the 07 Abbey Harris last night…just beautiful and clearly a wine of terroir…had brassy aromas that I just love…blind I would have likely guessed CA pinot but would have joked that someone like Blair Pethel of Dom Dublere in Burgundy must have made the wine…had his signature of “no signature”…think someone mentioned Dublere and AHF in another thread and it resonated with me
Definitely see a similarly between the anthill wines and the dublere. I love them both. Had the 07 abbey recently, as well as the 07 demuth. Both showing well. It always seems young, like the abbey would outlast the demuth. In fact demuth seems to always be open for business. But being the oldest vines is an x factor. Having had the 07’s and 06’s of both recently, I think the abbey are aging faster. Particularly 06. Love email all.
I’m always the one saying that Dublere and Anthill remind of each other, and I’ll be completely honest, I’m terribly flattered that y’all agree with me.
The point not being that they are identical, or that AF tastes like Burgundy, or that Dublere tastes like it’s from Sonoma or the Anderson Valley, but it does feel as though it could be the same winemaker making both wines from the two regions.