Winemaker Notes
From the dense fog and brilliant sun, to the high winds, cool coastal air, and diverse terrain, the California coast presents many challenges. And yet it’s still one of the best winegrowing areas for producing world-class Pinot Noir. Each of the vineyards chosen for this wine offers the best expression of its respective appellation, carefully blended to achieve balance, complexity, and richness of flavor.
Aromas of bright strawberry, jammy fruit, mocha, vanilla and toasty oak. Flavors of boysenberry, blackberry and mocha.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Following dusky aromas of briar, cinnamon mocha, and dark cherry notes of tobacco and chocolate licorice coat the earthy palate Dense and syrupy blackberry jam mingles with cedar
Internationally recognized for gorgeous, pure fruit combined with great elegance, California Pinot noir thrives among the state’s cooler, coastal zones. Characterized by eclectic flavors and aromas of strawberry, black cherry, plum and potpourri with notes of forest floor, mushroom or black tea, the best California Pinot noir boast a supple texture and good acidity, giving them the ability to improve with age.
Credited with the beginning of Pinot noir’s glory in California, two growers, Joe Rochioli and Joseph Swan in the late 1960s independently planted Pinot noir vineyards in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County. Today Sonoma County remains the leading producer of Pinot noir in the state, and Pinot noir is the leading red grape in the county, achieving its highest potential, in the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast.
Other coastal appellations where Pinot noir flourishes include Carneros, Anderson Valley and most of the Central Coast.