Winemaker Notes
Complex nose of ripe strawberries, leather, cherry liquor, fresh split cedar, smoke, blackberries, sea salt and carbon. Rounded and broad mouth feel of seamless sweet black fruit, red currant and earth. This is a big pinot noir without being over the top.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2005 Pinot Noir Carneros is an even bigger, deeper colored wine, with a deeper, blacker fruit character in the aromatics followed by a richer, broader, complete wine that recalls a top Burgundy from the Cotes de Nuits, given its darker fruit and forest floor aromatics and flavors. This is a beauty and an exceptional Pinot Noir that is still young and capable of lasting 7-8 years.
As early as the 1970s Carneros became known as a source of terrific Pinot Noir, and was one of the first California regions to gain such a reputation. The combination of sunny days, cooling fog and thin clay soils are tailor-made for the variety. Another factor in Pinot Noir’s prominent place here is vintners’ willingness to experiment widely. The history of the grape in Carneros is marked by continuous research into clonal variations, viticultural techniques and site selection. Careful evaluation over time has revealed a signature flavor profile as well. Complex aromas and flavors of cherry, red berry, spice, earth and cola appear time and again in Carneros Pinot Noir. To this day the appellation remains one of California’s standard bearers for the variety.