Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesA fruit-forward pinot with lots of bright strawberry and cherry aromas and flavors. It’s full-bodied and layered with ripe, integrated tannins and lots of fruit at the finish. Just the right amount of bitterness at the end. Drink or hold.
Leading off the two Pinot Noirs, the 2018 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley is an outstanding wine that reveals a vivid ruby color to go with textbook notes of framboise, candied violets, orange peel, and flowery incense. It’s medium-bodied and beautifully balanced, with a nice spine of acidity and a great finish. Drink this terrific Russian River Valley Pinot Noir over the coming 5-7 years.
Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2018 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley opens with a lovely floral perfume—lilacs and lavender—over notes of black raspberries, black cherries and mulberries plus a hint of stewed tea. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is chock-full of plump, ripe, juicy fruit, supported by a lively line and fine-grained tannins, culminating in a perfumed finish.
Amici's owners — John Harris, Bob and Celia Shepard, and Bart Woytowicz—are all great friends with a passion for making and enjoying great wine. At Amici the focus is on quality, not quantity. Because they insist on keeping the production small, they can carefully control the process of creating each wine, crafting what they like to consider a small work of art in each bottle.
What started as a few friends crushing some grapes for fun is now an award-winning premium wine known around the country, but one thing will never change: Amici is a wine created by friends, for friends.
While the Russian River Valley is a large appellation with multiple climate zones and soil types, it is best known for cool-climate varieties, with Pinot Noir as the most celebrated. The grapes benefit from a reliable late afternoon flow of Pacific Ocean fog through the Petaluma Gap and along the Russian River Valley that ensures slow and steady ripening and the preservation of grape acidity. Today many of California’s most highly regarded Pinot Noir vineyards are in the Russian River Valley, along with its sub-appellation, Green Valley.
Historically Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs had bright red fruit and delicate earthy, mineral notes. But changes in viticultural and winemaking practices have led to stylistic changes in some of the region’s wines. Adjustments to canopy management, among other techniques, have resulted in riper fruit and bolder wines as well. These show flavors of black cherry, blackberry, cola, spice and darker, loamy earth tones, accenting traditional Pinot Noir notes of strawberry, raspberry and light cherry.