Winemaker's Notes
This is our main Pinot bottling and focus as far as the hierarchy of bottlings is concerned. It regularly outperforms more highly priced vineyard-designate bottlings in truly blind wine tastings such as those done by The California Grapevine. So, for those not able or willing to wait for the 2018 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir futures to be available a year from now, this will scratch that itch nicely in the meantime as well as many years into the future.
I am absolutely in love with the perfumes of this wine that range from roses to what I recall in a young 1989 LeRoy Latricières-Chambertin (a real benchmark wine tasting experience I had in the early 1990’s). It has good structure yet drinks nicely at this early stage.
Besides the high-toned perfumes, fresh plum, Royal Ann cherry, sandalwood, freshly tilled loam greets the nose. There’s also the orange peel signature of Goldridge soils along this corridor along Highway 116 between Forestville and Sebastopol as well. On the mouth it is lively, mouth-watering and invites another sip, especially when served at dinner. It is absolutely perfect with Salmon.
Judi Scherrer –
Vinous – April 2020
A gorgeous entry-level offering, the 2016 Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley) captures all the natural exuberance of the Russian River. Black cherry, cola, spice, lavender, licorice and cloves are all amped up in this boisterous, juicy Pinot. Here, too, the presence of slightly mature notes makes the 2016 so rewarding to drink now. 93 Points. Antonio Galloni