Pinot Noir - 2024 Hillier Rouge Homage à James Lahti

Hillier Rouge Homage à James Lahti

• 100% Estate Grown Pinot Noir
• Hand-harvested fruit, 15kg totes 
• Crushed & destemmed + 25% whole cluster
• Spontaneous fermentation, alcoholic & malo
• 24 day cuvaison with thrice daily punch down
• Racked & pressed to 2 neutral barrels
• Barrels were gifted to Last House by James Lahti in 2019
• Final blend is 50% Daniel Block fruit & 50% Block 140 fruit
• Unfiltered & unfined
• Lightly sulphured after malo & at bottling
• Bottled in January of 2026

Tasting note by Rick VanSickle

Last House Vineyard Hillier Rouge Hommage á James Lahti Pinot Noir 2024 ($44, 94 points) — As mentioned in the intro, this Pinot is a tribute to the late Long Dog co-owner and winemaker, James Lahti, a pioneer of The County. It’s a first-time blend of Last House blocks planted in 2009 and 2018. The wine was 25% whole cluster pressed and aged for 13 months in two 225 L, stubby JK Cooperage Hungarian neutral barrels that were gifted to Last House by Lahti. It’s unfined and unfiltered. This is a slightly grittier version of the Daniel Block below and shows a lighter shade of red in the glass. When I first nosed this wine, my imagination went to Gagné and Heinricks walking through the vineyard, picking just ripe Pinot Noir grapes and squishing them straight into bottles for everyone to enjoy. Of course, that’s not quite the way it works, but this Pinot does manifest itself as a bare-bones, pure and naked version of County terroir that is irresistible from the first whiff to the last thrilling sip. The nose starts with striking violet notes that melt into wild raspberries, strawberry tart, anise, forest floor and truffles in a purely pristine rendition of the beloved Pinot grape that shows little signs of human intervention. The palate reveals more intense red berries with savoury/floral notes, chalky minerality, aniseed, umami, subtle reductive notes and crunchy pomegranate with silky tannins and a long, echoing finish that lasts for minutes. A beautiful thing that will continue to bring pleasure through 2031 but is in fine drinking shape right now. A defining County Pinot Noir with a very human story behind it.