Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Really vibrant and colorful on the nose with elegantly lifted notes of roses and violets ,along with sappy sweetness and ripe strawberries. Full-bodied with silky, fine tannins and a bit of saltiness. The intensity here swells at first, but then mellows into a bed of juicy dark fruit and roasted herbs. The sap comes through again at the finish. Drinkable now, but best after 2023.
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Wine Enthusiast
Softly stewed raspberry and poached plum aromas meet with hibiscus and rose potpourri on the nose of this new single-vineyard pick-up for this iconic brand. Tart red-plum and strawberry tones engage the palate, where a snappy acidity carries a lingering hint of fennel pollen into the texturally taut finish.
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Wine & Spirits
This heady pinot channels Mt. Carmel’s cool breezy hillsides. It’s dark and spicy when first poured, smelling of clove and mace, the wood spice giving way to dark saturating plum flavors, and an equally mouthfilling texture, fleshy and extracted, with the weight for smoked pork loin.
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.