Winemaker Notes
Grapes for the 2001 Marin Pinot Noir are sourced from a small, single vineyard that is planted to the Mt. Eden Clone of Pinot Noir. Situated on a very cold hilltop west of the town of Nicasio, this lowyielding vineyard produces about one and a half tons per acre in good years.
Deemed too cold to grow wine grapes, Marin County has very few acres planted to Pinot Noir. Although viticulture is a struggle in Marin, the effort rewards us with the strength of character and personality that we search for at Hartford Court.
Professional Ratings
Internationally recognized for gorgeous, pure fruit combined with great elegance, California Pinot noir thrives among the state’s cooler, coastal zones. Characterized by eclectic flavors and aromas of strawberry, black cherry, plum and potpourri with notes of forest floor, mushroom or black tea, the best California Pinot noir boast a supple texture and good acidity, giving them the ability to improve with age.
Credited with the beginning of Pinot noir’s glory in California, two growers, Joe Rochioli and Joseph Swan in the late 1960s independently planted Pinot noir vineyards in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County. Today Sonoma County remains the leading producer of Pinot noir in the state, and Pinot noir is the leading red grape in the county, achieving its highest potential, in the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast.
Other coastal appellations where Pinot noir flourishes include Carneros, Anderson Valley and most of the Central Coast.