Hartford Court Sevens Bench Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
True to its Carneros roots, the 2017 Sevens Bench Pinot Noir carries the hallmark of the region-fruit intensity balanced by an earthy and savory side. The aromas open with blackberry and boysenberry, and lead into subtle truffle and spice characters. The flavors are reminiscent of black cherry and Asian spice, with a subtle black tea and spice component driven by a small amount of whole-cluster fermentation. The wine finishes with a juiciness and elegant tannins in the finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from Carneros and aged 17 months in one-third new French oak, the 2017 Pinot Noir Sevens Bench sports a medium ruby/purple color as well as a big nose of spiced cherries, candied orange peel, violets, and spicy oak. Rich, medium to full-bodied, beautifully textured, and concentrated on the palate, it's another serious release from this estate that's going to reward 2-3 years of bottle age.
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Wine Enthusiast
A spicy nose leads the way to the appellation's earthy funk and a length of cherry vanilla that balances it well. Powerful and weighty, the wine is juicy in orange and tangerine on the midpalate, with firm, supple tannin support and hearty oak.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale to medium ruby-purple colored, the 2017 Pinot Noir Sevens Bench Vineyard leaps from the glass with open-knit notes of baked red and black cherries, raspberry pie and mulberries with touches of forest floor and tobacco leaf. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is generous and juicy, offering a plush texture and appealing freshness, finishing long and earthy.
Other Vintages
2000-
Wine
Enthusiast
Making delicious wines of high personality is directly related to the difficult locations of the Hartford family's vineyard sources, the limited production of their bottlings and the varietals they use. "Character through adversity" is an expression that the Hartford family believes to apply to both people and grapevines, and they feel that surviving adversity builds character, and personality, in both.
The Hartford Family makes wines under two marks, one of which is Hartford Court. Hartford Court bottlings are small lots of high-personality single vineyard Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays that express the distinctive qualities inherent in each vineyard's terroir - the interplay of soil, slope, exposure and climate. The fruit is sourced from the Russian River Valley, Green Valley and Sonoma Coast appellations.
As early as the 1970s Carneros became known as a source of terrific Pinot Noir, and was one of the first California regions to gain such a reputation. The combination of sunny days, cooling fog and thin clay soils are tailor-made for the variety. Another factor in Pinot Noir’s prominent place here is vintners’ willingness to experiment widely. The history of the grape in Carneros is marked by continuous research into clonal variations, viticultural techniques and site selection. Careful evaluation over time has revealed a signature flavor profile as well. Complex aromas and flavors of cherry, red berry, spice, earth and cola appear time and again in Carneros Pinot Noir. To this day the appellation remains one of California’s standard bearers for the variety.