Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine stands out. It's very dry, with a full, firm texture of tannins and acidity, but most notable are the flavors. They are extraordinarily rich, mingling red and black cherries, mocha, cola and spice with toast, caramel and smoke from fine oak. Despite the wine's density, it possesses lightness and elegance that make it uplifting. Editors' Choice
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Wine Spectator
Plush and concentrated, with a fleshy band of ripe black cherry, plum and wild berry. Deftly balanced, with silky tannins, it finishes with a touch of pebble and mineral.
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.”
A large and diverse appellation within California’s North Coast AVA, Mendocino is home to several smaller sub-regions—most notably the Anderson Valley. This scenic region, with rolling hills covered in redwood forests as well as vineyards, is one of the world’s top producers of certified organically-grown grapes. Due to wide geographical and climatic variation, a vast array of wine styles can be found here.