Winemaker Notes
The beauty and precision of the 2013 vintage combined with the unique vineyard character of Alder Springs has produced one of our finest Alesia bottlings to date. Saline minerality and complex earthiness combine with perfectly ripe fruit to produce a wine that drinks beautifully now and will reward a few years of cellar age
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Like with the Alder Springs Chardonnay, the 2013 Alesia Pinot Noir Alder Springs Vineyard will be the last Pinot Noir from Rhys from this vineyard. It's another terrific red under this label though, that delivers tons of Pinot Noir charm in its pretty and exotic bouquet of sweet red fruits, incense and spring flowers. Light on its feet, graceful and lively, with beautiful elegance and polish, it will drink nicely through 2023.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
A large and diverse appellation within California’s North Coast AVA, Mendocino is home to several smaller sub-regions—most notably the Anderson Valley. This scenic region, with rolling hills covered in redwood forests as well as vineyards, is one of the world’s top producers of certified organically-grown grapes. Due to wide geographical and climatic variation, a vast array of wine styles can be found here.