Winemaker Notes
Complex, layered aromas – red cherry, black pepper, hibiscus and orange peel – are wonderfully bright and fresh while cranberry and pomegranate, wild thyme and underbrush lend fine detail. The broad fruit entry possesses great lift – juicy and vibrant, then immediately deep and layered. The mid-palate is succulent and round with cherry liqueur and rhubarb flavors which extend on fresh acidity through the long, black peppercorn-infused finish. Drink between 2018 and 2026.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A ripe, friendly style, with a creamy-textured core of cassis and cherry preserve flavors underscored by anise and apple wood notes that stay nicely melded with the fruit on the finish. There's a lingering cast iron note keeping this grounded. Best from 2021 through 2032.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Leading off the Pinot Noirs, the 2016 Pinot Noir Wester Reach is one of the releases that only goes out to distribution and isn’t offered on the mailing list. It’s a textbook wine from this estate and is ideal for readers looking to understanding the style of this estate. Wild strawberry, violets, and forest floor aromas and flavors, medium body, light tannin, and a charming, layered, balanced style all make for a brilliant Russian River Pinot Noir to drink over the coming 4-5 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2016 Pinot Noir Wester Reach sings of ripe black cherries, red plums, red currants and cranberry sauce with touches of violets, cinnamon stick, spearmint and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with tantalizing red and black berry layers with a satiny texture and oodles of freshness, finishing long and earthy.
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.