Winemaker Notes
The aromas on the 2018 Aquinas Pinot Noir really jump from the glass with perfumed cranberry, red cherry, wild floral and warm cardamom spice notes. The wine is inviting with an elegant, supple and rich, mouthcoating texture. Juicy fruit flavors alongside black tea and earthy mushroom notes add additional layers of complexity. The wine is well structured and is balanced by a strong line of bright acidity leaving a lingering, flavorful finish.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
This nicely tangy wine blends red-cherry, raspberry and mild toasted oak flavors for a tasty but lean profile and good balance. Medium body and light tannins give it an inviting snap in the texture.
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.”
Reaching up California's coastline and into its valleys north of San Francisco, the North Coast AVA includes six counties: Marin, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake. While Napa and Sonoma enjoy most of the glory, the rest produce no shortage of quality wines in an intriguing and diverse range of styles.
Climbing up the state's rugged coastline, the chilly Marin County, just above the City and most of Sonoma County, as well as Mendocino County on the far north end of the North Coast successfully grow cool-climate varieties like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and in some spots, Riesling. Inland Lake County, on the other hand, is considerably warmer, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc produce some impressive wines with affordable price tags.