Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Seductive mocha- and espresso-scented oak leads to a supple, graceful offering of blueberry and raspberry flavors that's rich without being weighty, gaining depth and revealing extra layers on a long, sustained finish. Drink now through 2022. 150 cases made.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A really sexy top-notch effort is the 2013 Pinot Noir Old Manzana Slope. This is a 150-case cuvée and a beauty in terms of complexity and richness. I have no idea what the clonal material is, but the wine has a dark ruby color, a big sweet kiss of cherries, strawberries, earth and spice, a silky, medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, and a long, lush finish. This superb Pinot tips the scales at 14.3% natural alcohol. The finish is stunning. Drink it over the next 5-7 years.
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.