Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The wine is always a blend of the winery’s best vineyards in the northern, warm section of the valley, including Allen, Rochioli Riverblock and Williams Selyem’s Estate. The 2012 is dry, tannic, delicately structured and mouthwateringly tart, with cranberry, raspberry, cherry, sandalwood and dried herb flavors. Enjoy it now and through 2018.
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Wine & Spirits
Bob Cabral has been making this benchmark Russian River wine since 2002, in this vintage blending estate fruit with four nearby vineyards west of the river: Bacigalupi, Bucher, Allen and the Rochioli Riverblock. His 2012 shows a lot of warmth and oak at first, but there’s a refreshing tension underneath, a crunchy cherry- skin grip that melds with the spiciness of oak to form an exuberant, satisfying Russian River classic. This would be great with sautéed mushrooms.
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.