Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Opening on earthy aromas of rock salt, crushed rock and rose petal, this is a complex, brooding wine from an incredible site. Dark cherry, strawberry and pomegranate carry the palate as the acidity builds
remarkable vibrancy and freshness, lasting through the finishing accents of cardamom, tea and white pepper. Editors’ Choice.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Pinot Noir Rochioli Riverblock Vineyard is a lovely wine, with bright scents of sour cherries, blackberries and cranberries and notes of woodsmoke, fennel and turned earth. The palate is medium-bodied, broody but fresh, with a long, spicy and lifted 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.