Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Fresh damson plum and bitter cherry notes form the core of this pure, unadorned version, with potpourri, sandalwood and red tea accents adding range through the silky, refined finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A bright ruby color, the 2023 Pinot Noir is lifted by bright fruit and spice, featuring notes of cranberry, poppy red cherries, bright spices, and fresh herbs. A refreshing, medium-bodied wine, it’s highly pleasurable now and boasts a refined, charming character, with fine tannins and ripe acidity. It’s a delightful Pinot Noir now, but it should also drink well over the next several years.
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Vinous
The 2023 Pinot Noir (Sonoma County) is a blend of fruit from vineyards in the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast. It’s a soft-textured, approachable, gently floral wine with good focus and lovey purity of fruit. Red cherry, spice and rose petal blossom with air.
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Wine Enthusiast
The nose of this Pinot delivers aromas of fresh Bing cherry, concentrated raspberry, sweet cinnamon and black tea on the nose. The palate brings supple tannin and energetic acidity, with flavors of macerated cherries, spiced plum, cinnamon and orange peel along the finish.
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James Suckling
Ripe red cherries, kirsch and rose petals with squeezed orange zest and lifted lavender aromas. Medium-bodied with crisp acidity and fine tannins. Fragrant.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Matured in used French oak, the 2023 Pinot Noir has inviting aromas of raspberry, watermelon, mossy bark, earth and cardamom. The medium-bodied palate is silky and bright with refreshing floral flavors and a long, layered finish.
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.