Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
For his 2013 appellation wine, winemaker Brian Maloney selected fruit from four vineyards throughout the Russian River Valley, including Heintz at the cool western edge of Green Valley and Becnel in the warmer hills along Westside Road. His gentle treatment of the fruit and use of mostly older barrels allows quiet, savory aromas of forest mushrooms and sandalwood to lead the way. The flavors slowly build toward a pure, rosy, red-fruited glow that's mouthwatering and gentle, yet utterly persuasive. The wine also happens to be a steal - and it would be delicious with sauteed mushrooms.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
A pretty amazing effort, the fine 2013 De Loach Russian River Valley Pinot Noir stays perfectly in the right place. Shows fruit and earth as it tells of it sense of place. Not a palate-beater, but a wine that lives up to its billing of Pinot Noir. Medium garnet color; pleasing aroma, medium bodied, zippy on the palate; dry; savory; long finish. (Tasted: September 4, 2015, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Enthusiast
Raspberry syrup and rose hips mark the entry of this wine, an relatively affordable offering from the appellation. Softly layered in red and black cherry as well as more brambly blackberry, it takes on additional complexity in its specks of baking spice, mostly cardamom, before a finish robust in tannin says adieu.
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.