Vinous Media 94
"A blast of sweet red fruit, pomegranate, mint, licorice and sweet spices hits the palate in the 2012 Pinot Noir Cerise, a wine of pure density and power. The 2012 needs another few years to fully come together, but it is impressive. This is a decidedly powerful, intense wine from Knez, with remarkable texture and exceptional overall balance. The 2012 was vinified with 40-75% whole clusters, depending on the specific lot. -- Antonio Galloni"

" Anthony Filiberti, winemaker at Anthill Farms, introduced us to his new project Knez Winery and we were immediately impressed at the quality of these cool climate, high elevation Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley’s Grand Cru sites Cerise & Demuth. Peter and Heidi Knez purchased Cerise and Demuth vineyards in 2007 and after tasting through several vintages of Anthill’s Demuth and Abbey Harris Vineyard (next door), they were determined to have Anthony Filiberti steward their vineyard and make the wines.

Anthony Filiberti took over as director of Knez Winery in the spring of 2009. His experience draws from periods working with Lynn-Penner Ash and Josh Bergstrom in Oregon from 1997-2003, followed by a stint at Williams-Selyem and his ongoing work with Anthill Farms! He is responsible for every aspect of viticulture and winemaking at Knez. Anthony works closely with Vineyard Manager Ryan McAllister. Together they are farming organically and transitioning to Biodynamic this year. Anthony lives at the winery in Boonville, making it easier to oversee all aspects of the business from vineyard to bottle, and now sales as well. All wines are made in a very similar style to the Anthill Farms. Pick on the earlier side to preserve the freshness and balance, wines for 2009 range from 13.4-14 alcohol, in 2010 the range is 12-13.8% alcohol. 3 week uninoculated fermentations with 30-100% whole cluster, drained by gravity directly to barrel, never wracked until bottling, low sulfur additions.

The Knez family has recently purchased the Demuth Vineyard and farm it biodynamically. The vineyard and the Demuth Vyd wines will be Biodynamic (though not Demeter certified) starting with the 2011 vintage. " ~ Winery notes