2023 Bachelder Kirby 45% Whole Cluster Gamay Noir | 90+pts

Good length, meatiness, earthiness, and florality. (Carl Boucher, Nov 5, 2025). 

A word from Thomas: On line One, just outside ‘Old Town’ N.O.T.L., the Kirby Vineyard is right on the actual eponymous Creek. The soil is so sandy that the turtles actually lay their eggs at the northern end of the vineyard on the sand banks of the Creek. These are older vines. The wine has a deep, dark red and black fruit vibe, with a savoury edge of deep licorice and even a touch of baked strawberries. There is definitely a reductive tone to this wine, so it's a little wild and sanguine; a bloody or rusty, flinty tone that makes me think this is going to age well. Kirby is maybe not as immediately lovable as L’il Kirby, but boy does it have a seriousness that suggests it's going to last for a long time. 

A word from Mary: Petrol. There's a dark, mineral-fruited note here.