Winemaker Notes
This Pinot Noir is nearly full bodied with complex fruit of ripe strawberry raspberry and black cherry mixed with baking spice and licorice, toasted oak and savory autumn leaf elements joining sustained ripe fruit on the mid palate. The finish is long with moderate intensity fine tannins, balanced acidity with cherry cola and faint floral notes joining lingering ripe fruit.
The 2017 Hop Kiln Estate Pinot Noir is bold and complex, yet balanced on the palate. It’s a great pairing with rich, flavorful dishes like Porchetta served with herbed, oven roasted potatoes, or with sheep’s milk cheeses like P’tite Basque or Caciocavallo.
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesFrom an estate in the Russian River and aged 10 months on lees in 40% new French oak, the 2017 Pinot Noir Hop Kiln Estate has a vivid, bright bouquet of black cherry, mulberries, flowery incense, and spice to go with a medium-bodied, silky, incredibly elegant style on the palate. It shows a more focused, fresh side to the Russian River yet still has beautiful fruit. It's a terrific wine, as well as a smoking value.
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.