Winemaker Notes
Graham Family Vineyard Russian River delivers generous black raspberry, and cranberry with notes of earth and spice. Elegant, balanced, lush and focused. Mouthful is ample and plush gaining depth with a lingering velvety finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby, the 2018 Pinot Noir Graham Family Vineyard takes its time to unfurl to smoked cranberries, blood orange, amaro, cola and dried herbs, with more nuance emerging with time in the glass. Medium-bodied, it walks a lovely line of broody fruit and bright amaro character, with a grainy frame and great freshness, finishing long.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Domaine Della Graham Family Vineyard Pinot Noir is a wild treat for the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine is alive, bright, and sassy. Its tight-knit aromas and flavors of ripe strawberries, earth, and black olives would pair nicely with rosemary and black peppercorn-infused lamb kebobs.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Bumping up the price, the 2018 Pinot Noir Graham Family Vineyard comes from the Russian River and spent 15 months in 52% new French oak. It's another ripe, powerful effort displaying lots of candied red fruits, violets, and spice notes to go with a medium to full-bodied, upfront, sexy style on the palate. It packs plenty of fruit, stays balanced, and has a great finish. It's not for those craving nuance and elegance, but if you like ripe, sexy Pinot Noir done well, you'll love this.
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James Suckling
Ripe cherries, strawberries, fresh flowers, wild mushrooms and vanilla on the nose. Subtle coffee-bean notes, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with sleek, silky tannins and bright acidity. Fresh and delightfully energetic.
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.