Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
More than once we have found a great deal to like in the straight appellation bottlings of top-notch Pinot producers, and here is just such an example that rivals and even surpasses several of its pricier cellarmates with respect to balance, fruity depth and real varietal beauty. It is moderately full, slightly fleshy in feel and very wellbalanced, and, while it impresses as a Pinot of many parts, it impresses at least as much for the way in which those parts are seamlessly joined. It is no stretch to see richness and refinement intersecting in its not-too-distant future.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2014 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley has a little tar and rubber to begin, giving way to notes of baked cherries, mulberries and cranberry jelly with a dried Provence herbs and forest floor undercurrent. Medium to full-bodied, firm and rich in the mouth, it has a solid frame of chewy tannins and balanced acidity, finishing long. Built to age, it should cellar for a good 8-10 years or more.
Rating: 91+
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.