Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Offers charming aromas of raspberry, blueberry and wild berry, with touches of spice, anise, mineral and oak. Shows impressive delicacy, detail and finesse. Drink now through 2024.
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Wine Enthusiast
Goldridge honors the soil series so important in the appellation, offering floral aromas that lead into silky-smooth texture with tension. Earthy, it conjures notions of fresh-picked strawberry, black tea and kirsch, with an approachability that doesn't distract from its complexity.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 reds, which are highly regarded as a vintage by the Dehlingers, include the 2013 Pinot Noir Goldridge, named after the famous soils that dominate the Russian River in some cases all the way to the Sonoma Coast. Broad, savory, ripe raspberry and black cherry fruit with hints of mountain berry notes are present in this medium to full-bodied wine, which has terrific ripeness, elegance and purity. Drink it over the next 10-15 years.
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.