Winemaker Notes
Notes of savory red fruit (cranberry, pomegranate) on the nose. Light-medium body, with crunchy red cranberry, chalk, and dark cherry layers.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Winemaker Cory Waller is in epic stride at this property right now, and this bottling is solid case in point. It's light in the glass, with aromas of fresh and dried cherry, mild game and dusty chaparral on the elegant nose. The palate perfectly captures ripe fruit yet retains lovely and rustic layers of tar and baking spice. The compelling texture pushes it into the next league.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Part of the larger Central Coast AVA, the valley was historically an important source of grapes for Almaden Vineyards before it was acquired by Constellation Brands in the 1980s. At 1,100 feet, the San Andreas Fault divides the valley so that one side is granite and sandstone, and the other is granite and limestone. Its position along the San Andreas fault makes the region well suited for excellent Central Coast wine production. Top varietals include Zinfandel, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and rose.