Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Sourced from the estate's best blocks, this opens in a seductive whiff of bay leaf and sour, muddled cherry and strawberry, with lacings of orange for refreshing tang. Full bodied and concentrated, with sizable tannin providing structure and complexity, the density is balanced by ample acidity.
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Wine Spectator
While taut, the flavors fan out, extending the snappy wild berry and blackberry to touches of spice and light oak. Most impressive are the depth, density and length of the finish, keeping you coming back for another sip. Drink now through 2022.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Pinot Noir Carneros Estate is another big-time winner from Donum. Loads of deep ruby color, lush black cherry and blackcurrant fruit, earth, spice, sandalwood, a touch of forest floor and a long finish make for a complex, impressive Pinot Noir to drink over the next decade.
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.