Winemaker Notes
Refined aromatics of wild cherries, black tea and violet floral notes are embraced by baking spices and cardamom. Essence of plum, raspberry and black cherry abound on the palate with a smooth texture formed by fine-grained tannins.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
From a site farmed by the Martinelli family, this wine is robustly built and feral—a reflection of its wild, coastal conditions. A tightness of tannin is highlighted on the palate in black tea, forest floor and black pepper, with rich layers of black cherry, raspberry and cardamom that last for days.
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.”
On the far western edge of the larger Sonoma Coast appellation, the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA hugs right up against the Pacific coast. Vineyards, planted at rugged elevations between 920 to 1,800 feet, occupy only two percent of the total land in the AVA. Fort Ross-Seaview growers believe that the region boasts an ideal mix of sunshine, cool air and beneficial stress for producing high quality Chardonnay and Pinot noir.