Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A strong, oak statement here. This has an impressive array of ripe, red and darker cherry aromas and flavors that marry well with a wealth of plush, fine tannins. Drink or hold.
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PinotReport
A strong, oak statement here. This has an impressive array of ripe, red and darker cherry aromas and flavors that marry well with a wealth of plush, fine tannins. Drink or hold.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2015 Pinot Noir Estate is a solid, complex effort. Darker berry fruits, earth, spice, and some smoky/charcoal notes define the nose. It's medium-bodied, rounded, beautifully textured and elegant on the palate, with fine tannin, and a layered, seamless texture. This is one of those wines that grows on you with time in the glass and I expect it will gain a touch more complexity with a year or two in bottle.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale to medium ruby-purple colored, the 2015 Pinot Noir Estate opens with fragrant lavender and rose petal notes over a core of crushed cranberries, pomegranate and rhubarb plus hints of forest floor and dusty soil. Medium to full-bodied and packed with red fruit and earth layers, it has a firm frame of grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and perfumed. 1,354 cases produced.
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Wine Spectator
Scents of blackberry and raspberry jam highlight the aroma, yet this is snappier and livelier on the palate, turning pleasantly supple and silky, gliding along on the finish. Drink now through 2027
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.