Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Donum is at the top of it's Pinot Noir game. This is simply wonderful, offering a wealth of red fruit, cola, spice, mineral and earth flavors. The tannins are negotiable, the acidity brisk and clean, the finish dry and long.
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Wine Spectator
Black cherry, pomegranate and plum flavors are framed by touches of toast, earthy loam, black tea and dried rose petal, with understated richness and intensity. Mineral notes on the finish. Drink now through 2020.
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.