Winemaker Notes
The 2017 Russian River Pinot Noir is fruity and expressive from the start, with bright notes of strawberry and peach leaping from the glass. The mouth is broad and weighty, with silky smooth tannins carrying layered flavors of strawberries, freshly roasted coffee, milk chocolate, and clove. The lengthy finish is perfumed with French vanilla.
Enjoy this crowd pleasing Pinot with pancetta wrapped melon with crumbles of blue cheese.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
There's a lot to like in this well-priced Pinot, from its wild strawberry freshness to its brisk, earthy tannins and heirloom-apple complexity. Those tannins go a bit muddled in the end, their earthy spice needing a pepper steak to resolve.
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.