Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
“Most of us in the room wouldn’t think of 2011 as being a classic Pinot Noir vintage,” Ted Lemon begins. “But it has plenty of tannin and more of a leafy, autumnal quality. In the early years, it was hard,” he continues. "The vineyard sources were not as good; the vineyards were younger. There were a lot of young winemakers and people with little to no experience. The people, the vines and the vineyards have gotten more mature. 2011 was a vintage totally impacted by better viticulture.” The 2011 Pinot Noir Mays Canyon was one of my favorites of the retrospective—it’s in its prime drinking window and evolves beautifully in the glass. Dried cranberry fruit is accented by wafts of pipe tobacco, iodine, earth and spice, and the palate is bursting with crunchy red fruit flavors. Its gently rustic tannins have softened, its fresh acidity is well integrated and it has a very long, detailed finish.
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James Suckling
Mellow and mature in character, yet still offering good, lively acidity and resolved tannins. Baked cherries, sour cherries, bouillon and star anise. Flavorful but a bit lean, nicely dry and smoky.
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Vinous
The 2011 Pinot Noir Mays Canyon is laced with sweet dried cherry, mint, leather, spice, crushed autumn leaves and pipe tobacco. Mature but with good complexity, the 2011 is a fine choice for drinking now and over the next handful of years. It is an unquestionably beautiful wine, even if it remains a bit dried out, compact and unyielding in its overall feel. I liked this more on release.
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.