Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Pinot Noir Treehouse Vineyard is similarly colored and offers rockstar notes of black cherries, mulberries, crushed violets, and forest floor/underbrush. Medium-bodied, vibrant, and seamless, with nothing out of place and ultra-fine, building tannin, it shows the balance and purity that’s the hallmark of this incredible vintage in Sonoma. Give bottles a year or two and enjoy over the following decade.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby, the 2016 Pinot Noir Treehouse Vineyard has soft scents of red berry jam, pomegranate, dried leaves, baked blackberries, hints of nutmeg and pie spice plus amaro and scorched earth notes. The palate is medium to full-bodied with citrus and amaro-tinged fruits framed by firm, finely grained tannins and juicy freshness, finishing very long and flavorful.
-
Wine Spectator
Broad-textured and rich-tasting, with flavors of raspberry, mocha and allspice, framed by notes of chocolate nibs. The creamy finish completes the package. Drink now through 2023.
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.