Winemaker Notes
The approachable and inviting 2018 vintage perfectly illustrates the character of this wine. The nose brings scents of candied cherry, blood orange, cocoa powder, brown spice and floral notes. The palate is round and balanced on entry, with well-integrated French oak and bright acidity. The sustained finish is spicy and lively, with a hint of pomegranate and a touch of leather.
Pairs beautifully with garden fresh vegetables for a savory Fall stew. Yukon gold potatoes and Nantes carrots add intense flavor. The “stew” meat can be upgraded to a flat iron steak—the tenderness is totally worth it! Serve with a green salad and crusty French bread as a hearty meal to enjoy with the Klopp Ranch Pinot.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
The fruit for this wine come from the oldest blocks on this renowned site on sandy, Goldridge soil, blending Pommard and Swan clones. The earth-laden nose is rich with blueberries and brown-sugared plums. Perfumed lavender, sweet lush cherries and savory herbs define the exotic attributes of this red.
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Wine Enthusiast
Forest, clove, oak and thick tannin make for a hearty entry into this perennially impressive vineyard-designate—one of the producer's earliest partnerships. Weighty and powerful, it offers forest floor, tea and wild strawberry, the acidity lasting and lively.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby-purple, the 2018 Pinot Noir Klopp Ranch offers aromas of cranberries, rhubarb and blackberries with notes of earth, tar and woodsmoke. The medium-bodied palate has pretty, earth-laced fruits with a grainy frame and uncomplicated finish. This feels youthfully mute and may open up with some more time in bottle.
Rating: 91+ -
Wine Spectator
Svelte and fine-edged, with savory richness to the well-structured dark cherry, plum and dark currant flavors. Dense finish is filled with forest floor notes.
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.