Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Notably elegant and refined, with understated sour cherry and berry fruit. Shows light oak and earth shadings, but maintains a sense of proportion and balance that brings you back for another sip. Drink now through 2022. 575 cases made.
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Wine Enthusiast
Spicy forest notes speak loudest in this wine, which has a quiet texture of tightly woven tannin and supportive oak. Complex and savory, its fruit is subdued, marked by wild strawberry and minty herb.
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.