Winemaker Notes
This wine offers aromas of salted plum, blackberry flower, and shiitake, followed by flavors of coastal berries, rosehips, and Orange Pekoe tea. Its nuanced profile pairs wonderfully with rotisserie chicken, hot smoked salmon, or mushroom tempura.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
This fresh and medium-bodied wine is complex and intriguing, with appealing aromas of redwood forest, rose petals and grilled herbs. Wild berry flavors integrate with juicy tannins and mouthwatering acidity. Notes of bergamot and herb tea linger in the long finish. Good value.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
A large and diverse appellation within California’s North Coast AVA, Mendocino is home to several smaller sub-regions—most notably the Anderson Valley. This scenic region, with rolling hills covered in redwood forests as well as vineyards, is one of the world’s top producers of certified organically-grown grapes. Due to wide geographical and climatic variation, a vast array of wine styles can be found here.