Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby purple in color, the 2014 Pinot Noir King Ridge Vineyard has a slightly restrained nose, which with coaxing opens out to fragrant red cherry and raspberry leaf aromas, plus nuances of red roses and potpourri. Medium-bodied, youthful, delicately fruited and with a very fine backbone of silky tannins, it offers quiet intensity and many layers on the finish. 93+ points
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Wine Enthusiast
This herb-laced wine comes from a 1,100-feet elevation outpost five miles from the ocean and shows both feral notes and robust fruit. Tart cranberry flavor dominates, complemented by orange peel nuances. Its tannins are in full force, calling for more time in the glass if not in the cellar. Best the second day after opening, if one can wait.
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Wine Spectator
Shows understated elegance. Not shy on flavor or authority, as the tannins are firm and earthy, but the core flavors of plum, cherry and raspberry offer subtle nuances that take time to emerge. Drink now through 2023.
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.