Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Pinot Noir Keefer Ranch Vineyard has a pale to medium ruby color and pretty nose of violet, kirsch, blueberry, black and red cherries and berries wrapped in a layer of sweet spice with savory/earthy accents of tobacco and soil. Medium-bodied, it's soft and silky in the mouth with spiced fruits, firm, grainy tannins and a long earthy finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Stemmy and earthy, this is a robust, full-bodied and richly concentrated wine, candied in cherry and strawberry flavors. Accents of cola and cardamom add complexity and freshness to the power.
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.