2012 Pahlmeyer Wayfarer Vineyard Pinot Noir The Traveler
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Tasting notes
Medium ruby colored, the 2012 Pinot Noir The Traveler (made from the “suitcase clone”) is scented of baked cherries and warm cranberries with smoked ham, spice box, underbrush and menthol. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a pleasant restraint of savory layers with a firm tannin backbone and great freshness, all of which really define this singular wine.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Displaying a bigger, richer personality, yet still playing in the more elegant style of the estate, the 2012 Pinot Noir The Traveler gives up awesome notes of framboise, strawberries, licorice and forest floor. Elegant, rounded, seamless and so, so seamless and pure, it's a sensational effort that, like the 2015, has a touch of La Tâche flair! Drink it over the coming decade (or more).
The 2012 Pinot Noir The Traveler is the richest and most powerful of these wines. Made with clonal material sourced from one of Burgundy's top sites, the Traveler is layered with black stone fruit, cherries, menthol, cola and licorice. The Traveler was just bottled, so it will be interesting to see what the next 6-12 months bring. Today, I see a little less finesse than in the two other Wayfarer Pinots.