Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Pinot Noir Russian River exhibits a lighter medium ruby color as well as more sassafras, cola, beet root and clove characteristics along with sweet cinnamon-infused black cherries. The complex aromatics are followed by a lush, sexy, medium-bodied, round, distinctive Pinot Noir that should drink well for 4-5 years. I loved the complexity and seductiveness of this offering.
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Wine Enthusiast
A bright, spicy oak note in the aroma sails through the flavors and adds a nice lift to the ripe red cherry and plum flavors. It’s a medium-bodied wine, with mild tannins and a generous, smooth texture.
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.