Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Pinot Noir Zio Tony Ranch opens slowly on the nose, transitioning from expressive raspberry jam and wild cherry to pure nuances of mossy bark, rose petal, licorice and hibiscus. The medium-bodied palate is bursting with concentrated, fragrant red fruit. It’s structured by soft, dusty tannins and mouthwatering acidity and has a long, ethereal finish.
-
Wine Spectator
Steeped and winey, with a big ball of kirsch holding sway, along with flashes of bitter plum and licorice snap. The fruit wont quit either, even gaining energy as it tumbles through the finish, with violet and apple wood notes that add range. Polished and seductive in feel overall. Drink now through 2038. 725 cases made.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2023 Pinot Noir Zio Tony Ranch is a jeweled ruby color and is more complex and complete on the nose, with notes of ripe cherries, candied roses, pretty strawberries, and sweet spices. It’s a supple wine on the palate, with a silky, rounded texture and a medium-bodied frame.
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.