Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is a seamless wine with ultra-fine tannins and beautiful glycerin texture. Mineral. Full body, superb depth and length. Yes!
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium to deep ruby-purple, the 2013 Pinot Noir Mother Rock (made from Mt. Eden and 777 clones) has a gorgeous, spicy nose of Chinese five spice, raspberry coulis, red currant jelly and dried rose petals with a touch of smoked meat. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is opulent and seductive, with velvety tannins and lovely, understated freshness, finishing with lingering perfumed notes.
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.