Winemaker Notes
With estate vineyards in some of the world’s most sought-after regions, MacMurray Estate Vineyards crafts an award-winning collection of pinot noir and cool-climate white wines from Sonoma County and the Central Coast. The winemaker oversees everything from rootstock selection to barrel aging, to create a portfolio of wines that illuminates the unique, nuanced flavors of each estate vineyard.
MacMurray Estate Vineyards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir opens with aromas of dark berries and violets. On the plush, silky palate, delicate cherry and plum characteristics meld with lavender, rose petal and subtle hints of earth. Notes of oak and vanilla feature on the lingering finish in this vibrant Pinot Noir.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Boyd Morrison makes the wines at MacMurray Ranch, blending this one with fruit from the ranch as well as other Russian River Valley vineyards owned by E&J Gallo. It’s a definitive RRV pinot in 2017, the wine’s dynamic richness layering fl oral strawberry notes over dark cherry and sweet oak. The satisfying velvet nap provides a textural base for the bright and juicy flavors, ending with umami clarity.
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Wine Spectator
Plush and rich-tasting, with a deep well of dark cherry, plum tart and dried berry flavors, matched to firm acidity and tannins. Sandalwood accents show on the creamy finish. Drink now through 2024.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 MacMurray Estate Vineyards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir offers attractive richness from start to finish. TASTING NOTES: This wine offers ripe fruit and a hint of oak. Enjoy it with grilled lamb chops topped with mint leaves. (Tasted: August 19, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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.