Winemaker Notes
Crème de cassis, kirsch and black plum ignite the senses, while notes of chocolate and fresh baked blackberry pie are energetically layered throughout. Compact and linear entry, with great depth of flavor. Notes of cranberry and raspberry complement the bold tannins and bright acid, while the finish is expansive, clean and long.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
I loved the 2016 Pinot Noir Bootlegger's Hill. This ripe yet seamless Russian River Pinot Noir gives up rocking notes of black cherries, candied violets, wild strawberries, and exotic flowers. Rounded, supple, and sexy, it glides across the palate with ultra-fine tannin, no sense of weight or heaviness, and remarkable length. This is one of those wines that shines both for its richness as well as elegance.
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James Suckling
Aromas of blackberries, pumice and black cherries. Full-bodied, very tight and finely chewy. Fascinating white peppers and salt undertones to the cool fruits. Vivid acidity gives it energy and definition.
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Wine Enthusiast
From a site littered in volcanic soils, this wine is fresh, focused and sanguine, with lovely layers of blueberry, rhubarb and orange peel. Tangy acidity rides throughout its bolder, richer elements of supple tannin structure and integrated oak. A tangy hit of crisp rhubarb and cranberry lingers on the long finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Aged 16 months in 55% new French oak, the 2016 Pinot Noir Treehouse Vineyard is medium ruby-purple with a perfume of cranberry sauce, rhubarb and red berry jam hints with tree bark, underbrush, tobacco leaf and black cherries. The palate is medium to full-bodied, silky, rounded and slowly gains in amplitude in the mouth, giving up red then black fruits, spices, earth and savory notions. It has a sturdy frame of very finely grained tannins and juicy acidity to call you back for another sip, finishing long and nuanced.
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Wine Spectator
Impressive for the supple array of plum, raspberry, black cherry, spice and light oak flavors. Given this wine's impressive youthful attributes, let this rest at least a year.
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.