Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
A dropdead gorgeous Pinot Noir that will satisfy everyone from Burgundy fans to diehard Cabernet cultists. Show an elegant complexity and silky texture that define great California Pinot Noir, yet with a powerful impact that emphasizes raspberries, cherries and blueberries. Brilliant acidity and tannins provide the perfect framework on this wine that's drinkable now, and will develop over the next 15-20 years.
Cellar Selection -
Wine Spectator
Marked by complex spicy, loamy earth, dried lavender and dried berry notes, this Pinot is full-bodied and tight, gaining richness and depth on the finish, where the flavors show a plummy minerality. Drink now through 2020. 286 cases made.
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.