Winemaker Notes
Sourced from family growers in Mendocino, the 2023 Pinot Noir offers vibrant notes of wild strawberry, black cherry, and cranberry, layered with hints of baking spice. The palate is silky and elegant, with fine tannins and a long finish.
Vegan-Friendly
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This shows the coolness of the vintage, bringing purity and finesse with a lovely floral lift and high-toned red fruit. The palate is fine-boned and precise, with finely integrated tannins and bright acidity, finishing with a savory undertone balanced by sweet spices and fruit. Nicely done. Drink or hold.
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.