MAXEM Silver Eagle Vineyard Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2021

We said it years ago when the brand was first launched, and we remain committed to this observation today…this brand WILL BE as influential to our industry as Helen Turley’s Marcassin. If a perfectly balanced and integrated Pinot Noir is part of your love language (as it is mine), then the current release from MAXEM, made by the brilliant Sam Kaplan, belongs in your cellar.

Sam has been on the ground floor of some of Napa Valley’s most exciting wine projects in recent history, helping to plant vineyards, build wineries, and cement reputations with wines that speak of the unparalleled sites in which they’re grown. His clients include Memento Mori, Arkenstone, Vangone Estate, and formerly Nine Suns, all of which are ultra-premium brands made with meticulous care from pristine vineyards. His genius is in his humble approach, which allows Sam to let the fruit rather than his ego determine the outcome. He is thoughtful, intentional, and committed to his craft, and these qualities truly shine in every wine that he touches.

Conceptualized and produced alongside his wife, Nancy, a chef who has spent her career crafting Michelin-star cuisine in some of the best restaurants on both coasts, these two have combined their talents and dreams to create what we at ACME enthusiastically feel is an exceptional reality! The name MAXEM is the combination of their children’s names, Max and Emma, and in Latin, it also means “best of the best.” The wines are brilliant - perfection in fact - and today we have the pleasure of offering you access to their latest release of 2021 Pinot Noir from the celebrated Silver Eagle Vineyard.

The 2021 Silver Eagle Vineyard Pinot Noir comes from a pristinely farmed site within the Sonoma Coast AVA. This vineyard is planted to the "VR" clone, originally brought over from the epic winegrowing region known as Vosne-Romanée, home to Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, one of Burgundy's most storied vineyards and wines, commanding the highest prices ever captured at auction. This gorgeous wine displays a ruby-purple hue with a deep core of black raspberries, red raspberry compote, fresh blackberries, a waft of cinnamon stick, and an extraordinarily savory nose of Sichuan pepper and Indian spices. Medium-bodied, very elegant, high-toned red fruit and refreshing, it has a fine-grained texture and a long, peppery finish. Prepare yourself to be wooed and then won over; this quintessential, elegant yet powerful Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir will drink nicely for 10-12 years or more!