Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2004 Pinot Noir Deer Camp Vineyard is stony and complex, resembling a grand cru from Chambolle-Musigny with its hints of gun flint, precise sweet cherry, raspberry, and floral notes. It is a leaner style than the regular bottling, but ultimately more complex and intellectual. I really love this wine and think it could age for up to a decade or more, but time will tell.
As early as the 1970s Carneros became known as a source of terrific Pinot Noir, and was one of the first California regions to gain such a reputation. The combination of sunny days, cooling fog and thin clay soils are tailor-made for the variety. Another factor in Pinot Noir’s prominent place here is vintners’ willingness to experiment widely. The history of the grape in Carneros is marked by continuous research into clonal variations, viticultural techniques and site selection. Careful evaluation over time has revealed a signature flavor profile as well. Complex aromas and flavors of cherry, red berry, spice, earth and cola appear time and again in Carneros Pinot Noir. To this day the appellation remains one of California’s standard bearers for the variety.