Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
This shows wonderful intensity, depth, focus and purity of Pinot flavor, with tiers of concentrated blackberry, wild berry, raspberry and plum. Supple, fleshy, full-bodied and persistent, ending with firm, ripe tannins and a dash of black licorice and mineral.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
For a 2006 Pinot Noir, the 2006 Pinot Noir Finn has turned out about as well as one could hope. It didn't hit the heights I predicted from barrel, but the wine has a dark plum/ruby color and a sweet nose of pomegranate, root beer, underbrush/forest floor, black tea, and sweet plums and cherries. This is a beauty - deep, full-bodied, and an undeniable success for the vintage.
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.