Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
The most floral of the four we tasted, this vintage shows jasmine and violet water on the nose, along with tea leaf and plum on the palate. It’s still very fresh; winemaker Dave Lattin pointed out an orange-rind element that I picked up on in the younger wines as well.
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James Suckling
An upbeat and concentrated pinot with bright and pure red-cherry aromas and flavors. The palate has crunchy, assertively crisp tannins and a neatly resolved finish. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
In a vintage that saw early bud break an uneven fruit set, this shows ample concentration and thick tannin. Velvety on the palate, it features voluptuous flavors of lavender, orange, cherry and strawberry around a backbone of distinctive acidity.
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.