Donelan Two Brothers Pinot Noir 2016
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The 2016 Two Brothers Pinot Noir opens with a fresh and pretty bouquet of rose petals, cranberry, dried cherry, and crushed raspberries. It's a medley of deep, spiced scents that call to mind early fall fragrance, when berries are ready for harvest and roses are putting on a final show of flowers. The 2016 also has an earthy brilliance created by aromas of mint, dusty earth, white pepper, and whole cluster spice. This wine is medium-bodied with a nice long finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Closer in style to the Tripp's Block Pinot Noir, the 2016 Pinot Noir Two Brothers reveals a light, translucent color as well as a savory bouquet of dried cherries, spice box, and flowery incense. Light on its feet yet with good intensity, it's medium-bodied, has nicely integrated acidity, a kiss of sweet California fruit, and a great finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
he 2016 vintage at Donelan saw poor fruit set, and yields for Pinot Noir were about half of normal yields. It was also the earliest harvest on record for Donelan, with most of the fruit picked before the end of September. The 2016 Pinot Noir Two Brothers was aged for 18 months in 35% new oak, and about 20% whole cluster was used this vintage. Fruit comes from Sonoma Mountain and Bennett Valley. Pale to medium ruby in color, it has a wonderful open nose of dried red cherry and cranberry, crushed raspberry, petrichor, dusty earth, dried citrus peel, potpourri and an array of underlying spiciness. Light to medium-bodied, with good concentration of spicy fruit and mineral character, it's refreshed by bright, juicy acidity and finishes long and textured.
Other Vintages
2014-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
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Tasting
Panel
At Donelan, they believe that the best wines are not made but discovered and they take pride in the responsibility and privilege of distilling for your pleasure the greatest qualities and natural variations in a vineyard and a variety. They start with great terroir, because site trumps all variables, and then proceed with extreme selectivity, conscientious winemaking, and extensive blending trials.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.