Winemaker Notes
This texturally complex wine retains an elegance and leanness indicative of it’s unique cool climate appellation. A beautiful, almost heady perfume introduces this savory and herbaceous Pinot Noir. On the palate strawberries and lush summer fruits combine with sanguine notes, as well as delicate over-tones of tea-rose, mushroom and Earl Grey. Bright minerality, dusty tannins, cherry cola and rose petal linger on the palate to provide a fresh yet multi-faceted finish to this partial whole-cluster Pinot.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This dusky, complex and well-balanced wine from a ridge-top vineyard offers a profusion of flavors from black tea to dark plum to roasted cherries. These get great structure from moderate tannins and vibrant acidity, indicating a long life in the bottle. Best from 2026–2032.
Cellar Selection
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.”
Essentially a northern extension of the Sonoma Coast AVA but part of Mendocino County, Mendocino Ridge is one of the rare appellations defined by elevation only. The Mendocino Ridge AVA is reserved only for vineyards at or above 1,200 feet between the Anderson Valley and Pacific Ocean.