Winemaker Notes
The richness of this wine pairs well with fatty, rich meats, such as lamb, duck, and stewed curries, as well as artisanal cheeses and wild mushrooms.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Fruity in dark cherry and cola spice and cinnamon, this is a moderately ripe, textured wine, toasty in oak and fulfilling in its balanced richness.
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Wine Spectator
Medium-weight, complex and spicy, offering lively raspberry and dusty earth flavors and grainy tannins that provide substance and depth. Ends with lightly chewy tannins. Drink now through 2022.
As early as the 1970s Carneros became known as a source of terrific Pinot Noir, and was one of the first California regions to gain such a reputation. The combination of sunny days, cooling fog and thin clay soils are tailor-made for the variety. Another factor in Pinot Noir’s prominent place here is vintners’ willingness to experiment widely. The history of the grape in Carneros is marked by continuous research into clonal variations, viticultural techniques and site selection. Careful evaluation over time has revealed a signature flavor profile as well. Complex aromas and flavors of cherry, red berry, spice, earth and cola appear time and again in Carneros Pinot Noir. To this day the appellation remains one of California’s standard bearers for the variety.