Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A very juicy and flavorful pinot with orange peel, crushed stone, hints of vanilla and a strawberry undertone. Medium to full body, focused and structured at the end. Needs time to soften but attractive and fine textured. Drink after 2025.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Also pouring a deep but transparent red hue, the 2021 Pinot Noir Carneros is lifted with cracked pepper, cinnamon, and black raspberry. A full-bodied Pinot Noir, it is ripe with meaty richness on the palate, with ripe tannins and notes of black tea, baked black cherry, and woodsy spices. It is a robust and expansive style to drink over the next several years.
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Wine Spectator
A dark, winey style, displaying crushed raspberry and plum fruit laced with hints of black licorice, fruitcake and bramble. An alluring black tea note weaves around the finish. For fans of a slightly heftier style of Pinot. Drink now through 2030.
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.