Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
From a vineyard along the Laguna Ridge near Green Valley, this wine shines in spicy black cherry, clove and moderate acidity. Full-bodied and juicy, it's balanced and velvety-smooth—a ripe, bold take on the variety that shows surprising elegance and length.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2014 Pinot Noir La Pommeraie has an earthy, dried herb and tree bark-laced nose with a core of red currants and mulberries. The medium-bodied palate is laden with quiet intensity, showing remarkable tension against the packed red berry and earth layers and framed by grainy tannins, finishing long. Afford it another year in bottle to really blossom. Rating: 93(+) Points.
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Wine Spectator
Well-focused on a vibrant, snappy core of blackberry and wild berry flavors. Though firm and dense, the tannins are well-integrated, making this an easy wine to warm up to. Drink now through 2023. 498 cases made.
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.