Winemaker Notes
Aromas of boysenberry, violet, and dried sage with flavors of sour plum, red licorice, and nutmeg.
Pair with chicken yakitori, peking duck, and porcini risotto.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2024 Pinot Noir (Mendocino County) presses out layers of dark cherry, incense, graphite and chalk in a slightly somber, brooding frame. It pulls tight on the powdery finish, leaving behind an echo of herbs and a chewy sensation. This young wine needs some time to reveal its charms, but the elements are in place.
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.