Winemaker Notes
Pinot Noir is handled delicately from start to finish, mostly hand-picked, then destemmed and gently crushed before a slow fermentation in open-top tanks for 10-14 days. The cap is gently punched down to integrate the skins into the fermenting juice to extract Pinot’s delicate flavors and contribute to the wine’s color. After fermentation, the wine is aged in 30% new, 100% French oak barrels for ten months before bottling.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This well-balanced and appetizing Pinot Noir offers notes of cranberry, raspberry and wild strawberry, with complementary touches of cola, roses, fresh tomato leaf, charred wood and a hint of chocolate. Fine-grained tannins offer a silky mouthfeel. Refreshing acidity leads toward a lingering finish that intertwines aromas and flavors elegantly.
Organically farmed and masterfully crafted, Bonterra Organic Vineyards epitomizes wines that are perfectly in tune with nature. A celebration of farm-fresh flavors, the portfolio features wines coaxed from the earth by careful farming practices carried out on a dynamic network of estate and partner farms throughout California. In addition to a widely available collection of organically farmed wines that includes Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Equinox Red and Rosé, Bonterra crafts a trio of sought-after single-vineyard offerings from estate Biodynamic® vineyards in Mendocino County, and The Elysian Collection Merlot, an elevated offering from organic grapes.
Long before organic produce filled the shelves of neighborhood groceries, the dedicated team at Bonterra was committed to organic and Biodynamic® farming because they passionately believe that farms teeming with biodiversity—encompassing vines, insects and wildlife, and healthy soils—yield organic grapes leading to better wines. Whether supporting the health of honeybees with hive housing in its organic vineyards, trading tractors for sheep to maintain vineyards during the winter months, or giving back to the future of agriculture through educational outreach and shared knowledge, Bonterra strives to leave behind a legacy of thoughtful winegrowing inspired by the potential of nature itself.
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.”
A large and diverse appellation within California’s North Coast AVA, Mendocino is home to several smaller sub-regions—most notably the Anderson Valley. This scenic region, with rolling hills covered in redwood forests as well as vineyards, is one of the world’s top producers of certified organically-grown grapes. Due to wide geographical and climatic variation, a vast array of wine styles can be found here.