Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Graceful and delicate, showing tremendous purity, with a core of red raspberry coulis, cherry and pomegranate juice. Whiffs of white pepper and forest floor lend this some traction. Features plush tannins on the finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Shows its California origins in very ripe, lush and soft flavors of raspberries and cherries, creamy chocolate frosting and red currants. Plenty of oak adds wood spice and toast. A big, generous wine, flashy and incredibly rich, if lacking a bit in subtlety.
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.