Winemaker Notes
The wine is a ruby-red color with aromas of berries and dried fruit. It is dry and medium-bodied on the palate with a perfect balance of acidity and fruit and traces of tannins making this wine complex, elegant, and perfect with food or even better to drink on its own to fully appreciate the pure clean Pinot Noir character.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
Wild strawberries, lavender and white pepper aromas introduce the 2022 Pinot Noir. This is softly textured with brisk acidity and tart wild berry fruits that gain complexity through a core of saline minerals and rosy inner florals that resonate toward the close. It finishes with remarkable freshness while leaving a citrus and licorice tinge.
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Wine Enthusiast
Warmed Bing cherry aromas leap from the glass as rosewood, sage and fresh flowers follow. The wine shows a playful side on the palate with vibrant acidity that lifts the red berry flavors while the earthy notes provide well-timed bass notes that make this wine ripe for any number of dishes.
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Wine Spectator
Shows an underpinning of savory smoke and spices layered with juicy cherry, wild strawberry and dried cranberry fruit. Delivers crisp tannins, with accents of licorice and fried sage emerging on the finish.
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 mountainous northern Italian region heavily influenced by German culture, Trentino-Alto Adige is actually made up of two separate but similar regions: Alto Adige and Trentino.
Trentino, the southern half, is primarily Italian-speaking and largely responsible for the production of non-native, international grapes. There is a significant quantity of Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Merlot produced. But Trentino's native and most unique red variety, Teroldego, while still rare, is gaining popularity. It produces a deeply colored red wine rich in wild blackberry, herb, coffee and cocoa.
The rugged terrain of German-speaking Alto Adige (also referred to as Südtirol) focuses on small-scale viticulture, with great value placed on local varieties—though international varieties have been widely planted since the 1800s. Sheltered by the Alps from harsh northerly winds, many of the best vineyards are at extreme altitude but on steep slopes to increase sunlight exposure.
Dominant red varieties include the bold, herbaceous Lagrein and delicate, strawberry-kissed, Schiava, in addition to some Pinot Nero.
The primary white grapes are Pinot grigio, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay and Pinot blanc, as well as smaller plantings of Sauvignon blanc, Müller Thurgau. These tend to be bright and refreshing with crisp acidity and just the right amount of texture. Some of the highest quality Pinot grigio in Italy is made here.