Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Fairly tannic and very dry, with ripe, jammy flavors of cherries and raspberries that taste like they were baked into a pie sprinkled with cocoa and cinnamon, and then drizzled with anisette liqueur.
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Wine Spectator
Firm in texture and structure, this is full-bodied, intense and concentrated, with layers of black cherry, wild berry, mineral, anise and spice. Tightly wound, so cellar time is appropriate.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From another Russian River vineyard, the 2006 Pinot Noir Flax Vineyard displays pomegranate, crushed rocks, some background oak, and a sweet, elegant, broad mouthfeel with some blacker fruits in the finish.
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.