Winemaker Notes
Complex layers of aroma and flavor. Black raspberry, forest floor, Allspice and velvet theater drapes from the nose. Wild mushroom, limestone, suede and earth engulfs the palate that is full, elegant and precise as a rare Swiss timepiece.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Very attractive aromas of sweet and sour fruit with cherries, strawberries and some orange peel. It’s medium-bodied with fine, firm tannins and a delicious chocolate and coffee undertone to the fruit at the end. 40% whole cluster. Handmade pinot.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from the talented team at K Vintners, the 2019 Pinot Noir comes from a mix of clones, spent a full 40 days on stems, and was aged 12 months in 15% new French oak. It reveals a medium ruby hue as well as perfumed cherry and raspberry fruits interwoven with notes of flowery incense, baking spices, and dried forest floor. Medium-bodied, nicely textured, and balanced, it has some firmer tannins (there's 30% stems), a layered, building mouthfeel, and terrific length. A terrific Pinot Noir, it will keep for 4-6 years, and I suspect it will be even better this time next year.
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.”
HEI591632_2019 Item# 780317