Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Unlike its close siblings, this wine is not specific as to its clonal origins, but the kinship among all three is crystal clear in their shared emphases on sweet, seductive and keenly defined fruit. Fully ripened and attractively juicy in character and never so much as hinting at heat, it has plenty of mass in the mouth and shows off the varietal's fine velvety feel, and its careful adjuncts of oak and milk chocolate serve as lovely enrichments to its unstinting themes of sweet cherries.
As early as the 1970s Carneros became known as a source of terrific Pinot Noir, and was one of the first California regions to gain such a reputation. The combination of sunny days, cooling fog and thin clay soils are tailor-made for the variety. Another factor in Pinot Noir’s prominent place here is vintners’ willingness to experiment widely. The history of the grape in Carneros is marked by continuous research into clonal variations, viticultural techniques and site selection. Careful evaluation over time has revealed a signature flavor profile as well. Complex aromas and flavors of cherry, red berry, spice, earth and cola appear time and again in Carneros Pinot Noir. To this day the appellation remains one of California’s standard bearers for the variety.