Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2016 Hartford Court Pinot Noir Jennifer’s sashays out of the glass with heart-stopping violets and lilacs over a core of redcurrants, Bing cherries, mulberries and black raspberries plus wafts of underbrush, spice box, black tea and black pepper. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with spice and earth layers, framed by firm, fine-grained tannins and finishing very long and mineral-laced.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Red plums, mulberries, oyster shell, and even a hint of iron all emerge from the 2016 Pinot Noir Jennifer's, which comes from a cooler, marine-influenced site south of Sebastopol. Medium to full-bodied, straight, focused, and beautifully balanced as well as incredibly elegant, this is a remarkable Russian River Valley Pinot Noir that does everything right. I suspect a year or two of bottle age will do it well, and it should evolve for over a decade.
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.