Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
his Pinot provides a rich, elegant band of spicy wild berry, black cherry and raspberry scents accented by nutmeg, spice and hazelnut before returning to the delicious medley of berry flavors. Impeccably balanced, graceful and delicate.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2002 Pinot Noir Ryan comes across as a classic premier cru from Gevrey-Chambertin with its Allspice, beet root, cola, and earth-like personality as well as its dry, tannic, austere style. Plum, berry, and forest floor notes are also found in this complex, French-styled Pinot.
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.