Winemaker Notes
The 2023 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is deeply-colored in appearance and has an intriguing nose of blackberry compote, matsutake mushrooms and sandy loam soil. The acidity on the palate stands out and frames the ripe fruit flavors on the palate with some firm tannins coming through on the finish.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Ken and Akiko Freeman founded their winery in 2001, in pursuit of a more elegant, nuanced style of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay than they’d been finding elsewhere around California. Eventually they settled on an area in the cold, western reaches of the Russian River Valley. The Freeman Pinot Noirs are always refined and elegant, with a delicacy that doesn’t get lost among the wisps of cherry fruit and forest floor flavours in the glass.
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.