Emeritus Hallberg Ranch Pinot Noir 2016
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Winemaker Notes
The 2016 Hallberg Ranch Pinot is pure, elegant, layered and complex. The wine is reminiscent of a warm black cherry tart dusted with cinnamon. There are hints of caramelized sugar and freshly toasted almonds. The wine is driven by dark spices and earth, with a sturdy frame from fine-grained tannins. All of these elements seamlessly combine to create the distinctive wine that is Hallberg Ranch.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Lattin picks at lower sugar levels, and it shows in an acid structure that remains high-toned from vintage to vintage. Composed of 11 different clones, this wine comes in on the lower end of ripeness, with bergamot and earth joining the fruit. The spice is augmented on the palate, with deep-dish cherry pie and marzipan on the finish.
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James Suckling
Very attractive aromas of ripe dark cherries here with a swath of blueberries and violets, too. The palate has a supple, smooth and glossy feel with a sleek array of fine tannins, folding out long and smooth at the finish. Solid pinot here. Drink or hold.
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James
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In 1999, legendary vintner Brice Cutrer Jones founded Emeritus with the goal of creating a grand cru-caliber estate capable of making the New World’s finest Pinot Noir. To achieve this goal, Brice and renowned Vineyard Manager Kirk Lokka planted two remarkable vineyards: Hallberg Ranch in the Russian River Valley, and Pinot Hill in the Sebastopol Hills. Totaling 150 acres of dry-farmed vines, these vineyards have emerged as two of California’s most revered winegrowing sites. A true family-run winery, Emeritus is guided by Brice’s daughter, Mari Jones, the winery’s dynamic president, and renowned Winemaker David Lattin, who has earned acclaim for crafting wines of incomparable elegance and complexity.
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.