Winemaker Notes
This Castle Rock Pinot Noir was produced from grapes grown in beautiful Mendocino County, where vineyards were first planted in the early 1860’s. In the fertile and rugged landscape the cool springs, warm summers, crisp falls and wet winters make ideal conditions for growing Pinot Noir grapes. This elegant and medium-bodied wine has delicate aromas of violet and rose petals, complex flavors and long silky textures, with layers of strawberry and raspberry leading into a long refined finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
A well-balanced Pinot Noir with a high glug-ability factor and a great bang-for-thebuck value. Find pronounced aromas and flavors of wild strawberries, forest floor, crushed roses and violets, red and black cherry, pomegranate, rhubarb, fennel, tarragon and just a touch of damp tree bark.
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.