Athair Winery
2007 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley

GOLD MEDAL - San Francisco International Wine Competition
94 POINTS - The Pinot Report
90 POINTS - Wine Enthusiast

With Northern California experiencing and unusually cold summer in 2010, local Pinot Noir producers are probably thinking longingly of 2007, a nearly perfect vintage for Pinot, with a long even growing season.  Today’s Heist celebrates the 2007 vintage with Athair’s 2007 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.  The Russian River Valley provides an ideal Pinot growing climate, with foggy morning to moderate temperatures, but plenty of afternoon sun to ensure the grapes ripen.  The result is expressive, balanced wines that highlight the elegance of Pinot Noir.

The 2007 Athair Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is a light cherry red in color.  The nose screams black cherry, along with briar and some surprisingly dark blueberry notes.  The palate is classic Russian River, with strawberry, cherry, and cranberry accompanied by spice and cola.  This wine wonderfully expresses the “terroir” of the Russian River Valley, with bright red fruit dominating but accompanied by earthy undertones.  It’s wonderful to taste a wine and know immediately where it comes from.

As a Sonoma based company, we are of course proud hat one of our AVAs, the Russian River Valley, has become widely recognized as a source of some of the finest Pinot Noir in the New World.  Yet, with that renown comes the inevitable increase in demand, and soon, price.  This has made it difficult to find good RRV Pinot for less than $40, so we are thrilled that we are able to offer this beautiful example at less than $30!  With its bracing acidity and medium body, this is a perfect candidate to put in the fridge for half an hour and serve slightly chilled on one of the last warm nights of the summer.

Variety:  Pinot Noir
Appellation:  Russian River Valley
Date Harvested:  September 2007
Cases Produced:  725

Tasting Notes  PDF 

More About