Description
Skylark Wines come to us from our friends, John Lancaster and Rob Perkins, two of the nicest, most humble, talented sommeliers on the San Francisco restaurant scene—who met across the street from Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant, at the Boulevard restaurant as co-Wine Directors. With their cumulative experience working with fine wines from all over the world, they were inspired to launch their own label in an attempt to create great wines—at restaurant friendly prices. To that end, they set about sourcing fruit from trusted growers in Mendocino and Sonoma counties, and made their first wine (14 barrels of Syrah) from the 2002 vintage. Encouraged by the praise of that initial wine, they expanded their scope to work with other Rhône varietals like Grenache and Carignan as well as Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Today, they produce small quantities of about 10 different wines, and due to their great success, Rob now spends most of his time-out in the field showing their wines to an eager and ever-growing fan base.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we think the Skylark wines get progressively better with every new vintage. John and Rob have been sourcing their Pinot Blanc from the Orsi Vineyard in Mendocino County consistently from their first vintage, in 2005—and it has really paid off. 100% Pinot Blanc, whole cluster pressed into tank, settled overnight, and drained into Mueller stainless-steel barrels. Bâtonnage was done once during élevage to add that final touch of mid-palate texture. With no malolactic fermentation, the finished wine was bottled with a light fining and filtration in early spring. The nose is delicate, with vibrant aromas of zesty citrus and yellow stone fruit. The medium-bodied palate continues in the citrus zone and is joined by yellow peach pit, underripe apricot and green plum flavors; the close is bright and crisp with a nice bitter almond note and a textural, wet stone finish. 600 cases produced.
