Apsara Cellars Rosé of Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2021

Robin Akhurst fell in love with wine during his time at Edinburgh University, so much so that upon graduating, he hopped on a vintage motorcycle, crossed the English Channel, and drove down to Provence to start pursuing his dream. It was in the rewarding hard work of harvest, and the natural beauty of the sun-drenched vineyards of the South of France, that he realized a typical 9 to 5 job was not in the cards for him. Two years later, and with an enology degree in hand, it dawned on Robin that he possessed the technical knowledge to make wine but needed to discover the broader world of wine through practical experience. And since harvest only occurs once a year, he decided to hemisphere-hop for more opportunities to practice his craft. Since then, he has worked with Anne-Claude Leflaive at Domaine Leflaive in Burgundy, Matt Wenk of Two Hands Wines in the Barossa, Thomas Rivers Brown of Schrader/Outpost Cellars, and Mike Smith of Myriad /Carter Cellars in the Napa Valley. With his charming brogue and star-studded résumé, Robin started his delightful label, Apsara Cellars, with his lovely wife, Aneeta.

Before embarking on his worldwide quest for wine insight, Robin met Aneeta 20 years ago in the steamy jungles of Indonesia while both were studying biology and environmental science. While globe-trotting, they turned their passions for science and ecology into careers in the visual arts, viticulture, and enology. Then, in 2009, they settled with their young family in Petaluma so that Robin could pursue winemaking and Aneeta could continue to hone her filmmaking and storytelling through a scientific lens. When choosing a name for this project, they selected Apsara, which is the Sanskrit word for an angelic dancer whose elegant movements reflect the elements of balance, purity, and expression in the bottle of wine.
For their first rosé, Robin and Aneeta went to the formidable Sangiacomo Vineyards to source 100% Pinot Noir. The Sangiacomo family has farmed in Sonoma County for three generations now, since 1927. They have employed many sustainable practices since the beginning and, over the years, fully transitioned to 100% sustainable certification through the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (as of 2015.)  With a repertoire of techniques built on decades-long experience and knowledge of their land, they grow superior grapes that land in the barrels of Napa and Sonoma’s top Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producers.

On an early morning in late August of 2021, the Apsara team hand-harvested this Pinot Noir alongside the Sangiacomo family and delivered the grapes to the winery by dawn. After hand-sorting and de-stemming, the grapes sat on their skins for 72 hours to extract color and tannin. Fermentation took place over two weeks, and the wine was transferred to small, stainless-steel drums for aging. Robin prevented the wine from undergoing malolactic fermentation and opted for a sur lie aging for six months. Even having aged on the lees, which can add a creamy, dense texture to the palate, this wine is delightfully refreshing and crisp with aromas of pear, white flowers, and savory stemmed herbs. Ripe melon and peaches fill the palate with a well-rounded mouthfeel and lengthy finish. The wine’s rosy, pink hue beckons you to take sip after sip until you find yourself pouring another glass.