Winemaker Notes
Medium purple/ruby color with attractive aromas of strawberry compote, red cherry and plum with toasted oak, vanilla and cinnamon spice, leather, red licorice, a little camphor with subtle purple floral notes. On the palate the wine is moderate to not quite full-bodied with ripe fruit of red berry, cherry and plum with vanilla, cinnamon and toasted oak leading into a mid-palate that features leather, a touch of dried herbs, camphor with underlying earthy notes. The finish is moderately long and fresh with lingering fruit, barrel spice and perfectly balanced tannins.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine is rich, dense, with aromas of ripe black strawberries, black plum, mulled spices on the nose. The palate is blood orange, yellow plums, raspberries, clove, allspice, cracked black pepper, intertwined cocoa cream, candied orange zest, blackberry confiture with a dry finish.
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.