Winemaker Notes
Saturated ruby. The 2024 carries the vineyard's signature decadence — ripe cherry pie, raspberry liqueur, and orange blossom layered with singed vanilla and forest floor. Pillowy and pillowy on the palate, with a savory base note of black plum and sandalwood and a long, salinity-driven finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Robust aromas of candied cherry and berry, rose petal, and sweet cinnamon burst from the glass on the nose of this Pinot. The palate possesses rich tannin balanced by a ribbon of orange peel acidity cutting through flavors of roasted plum compote, cola spices, fresh flowers, and stemmy herbs that persist through a generous finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2024 Pinot Noir Graham Family Vineyard is transparent red with a light haze yet bright in appearance, revealing black raspberries, grenadine, purple flowers, and delicate spice. It’s light on its feet, with fine tannins and a soft granite-like mineral texture, along with hints of clove. Drink 2026-2040.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2024 Domaine Della PINOT NOIR RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY GRAHAM VINEYARD shows a light to medium garnet color; lively, ripe red fruit aromas lift from the glass; medium-bodied and beautifully bright on the palate; pristine red fruit flavors shine with clarity; an active, finely tuned finish carries the wine with energy and grace. Pair with seared duck breast with a pomegranate glaze and a touch of fennel—the wine’s vivid red fruit and brightness echo the tangy-sweet glaze, while its elegance and structure complement the duck’s richness, creating a precise and beautifully balanced pairing. (Tasted: April 15, 2026, San Francisco, CA)
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.