Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Fermented with 30% whole clusters, the wine has a stemmy, woodsy, black-tea component that nicely complements the raspberries, sour cherries and cloves. Great acidity and moderate tannins add a nice little bite. Drink now or hold.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Pinot Noir Golden West is all varietal and comes from the Golden West Vineyard on the Royal Slope. It was fermented with 30% stems, saw a long 37-day maceration, and spent 20 months in 30% new French oak. Savory black cherries, leafy herbs, chocolate, conifer, and some spice notes all emerge from this impressive, medium-bodied, elegant Pinot Noir that’s balanced, has fine tannins, and a great finish.
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.”
