Winemaker Notes
Boysenberry and cherry with light pastry cobbler and gentle aromas of savory spice, aged black tea and vanilla bean. Black cherry and juicy red plum intertwined with fresh earth and faint tobacco leaf. A seductive broad texture with vibrant acidity and a silky soft mouthfeel, followed by a suede finish with an earthy characteristic and a balancing high tone. Well-rounded with subtle, finely integrated tannins.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A deep and electric ruby hue, the 2019 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley is ripe with pure classic aromas of wild cherry, cola spice, and sweet herbs. Medium-bodied, it delivers super-fine tannins, freshness, and purity as well as attractive ripe fruit raspberry, leather, and warming root spice, and it has elegance and a graceful feel without being heavy. Drink 2023-2032.
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Wine Spectator
Plush in texture and multilayered, this Pinot offers expressive raspberry and smoky forest floor flavors, which unfurl toward rich and refined tannins. Drink now through 2030. 358 cases made.
While the Russian River Valley is a large appellation with multiple climate zones and soil types, it is best known for cool-climate varieties, with Pinot Noir as the most celebrated. The grapes benefit from a reliable late afternoon flow of Pacific Ocean fog through the Petaluma Gap and along the Russian River Valley that ensures slow and steady ripening and the preservation of grape acidity. Today many of California’s most highly regarded Pinot Noir vineyards are in the Russian River Valley, along with its sub-appellation, Green Valley.
Historically Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs had bright red fruit and delicate earthy, mineral notes. But changes in viticultural and winemaking practices have led to stylistic changes in some of the region’s wines. Adjustments to canopy management, among other techniques, have resulted in riper fruit and bolder wines as well. These show flavors of black cherry, blackberry, cola, spice and darker, loamy earth tones, accenting traditional Pinot Noir notes of strawberry, raspberry and light cherry.