Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Crafted from estate-grown fruit—a marriage of Pommard and Swan clones—Golden Mean comes from three distinct vineyard blocks, the Pommard fermented whole-cluster. It opens with dark, ripe layers of lush cherry-vanilla, the wine concentrated and rich in oak yet balanced in acidity. On the finish is a mix of leather, licorice and wild herb. Tuck it away through 2020–2022.
Cellar Selection
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Jeb Dunnuck
Brought up in barrels with slightly higher toast levels, the 250-case 2012 Pinot Noir Golden Mean offers a ripe, hedonistic style in its blackberry, melted licorice, roasted herb and forest floor bouquet. Ripe, opulent and layered on the palate, with tons of mid-palate depth and a broad, expansive texture, it’s not for those craving cooler-climate, green, tart aromas and flavors. This sexy beast has the concentration and balance to keep for another 10-15 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Golden Mean is made exclusively from Pommard and Swan clones. Medium ruby colored, the 2012 Pinot Noir Golden Mean has a savory nose of charcuterie and Marmite toast with a core of dried cranberries, potpourri, spice box and menthol. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a beautiful earthy/savory character with lovely, fine-grained tannins and a good long finish.
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Wine Spectator
Fresh, pure, vivid aromas of ripe plum, raspberry and blackberry give this a complex flavor profile, framed by acidity and tannins. Gains length, finesse and grace on a long finish, punctuated by grainy tannins. Drink now through 2022.
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.”
On the far western edge of the larger Sonoma Coast appellation, the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA hugs right up against the Pacific coast. Vineyards, planted at rugged elevations between 920 to 1,800 feet, occupy only two percent of the total land in the AVA. Fort Ross-Seaview growers believe that the region boasts an ideal mix of sunshine, cool air and beneficial stress for producing high quality Chardonnay and Pinot noir.