91 Points - Wine Spectator
Double Gold Medal - San Francisco Chronicle Intl. Wine Competition
What happens when you hire "Rockstar" winemaker Greg LaFollette from the renowned Flowers Winery? You get ready for awesome wine. The first year, the San Francisco Chronicle's International Wine Competition awarded Double Gold, one of only two Pinots from the entire West Coast to receive that award. Then came more, and more...
Harvest Notes
Throughout the Spring and Summer attention is paid each grape vine to coax out the best possible fruit that the vine can offer up. At harvest, grapes are picked in the vineyards by hand at night or in the early morning so that fruit arrives at the winery cool and in pristine condition. The fruit is again inspected when it arrives at the winery. The berries are hand sorted and then processed into small lots.
When primary fermentation is nearly complete, the wines begin malolactic fermentation. The wines are transferred into small French oak barrels for continued aging for up to 20 months. This commitment to the smallest details continues today in the winery, where the idea, and the ideal, of the word "handcrafted" is translated to our hands-on approach to fermentation, punch-downs and racking.
Production is small, so that we can maintain that intimate connection with the wines. We are physically in the vineyards any time we need to be, which has a significant impact on viticulture and picking decisions, and ultimately, on quality.
Tasting Notes
"Offers hues of purple and rose-red around the edges of the glass. On the nose - a sensory cacophony of forest floor, bacon fat, sun-ripened berries and a wild, visceral, almost primal aromatic attitude that is... sexy. The complexity continues on the palate, with perfectly balanced, juicy acidity matching the broad, contained tannin structure. Mid-palate expands, filling the mouth with red berries framed by exotic and savory spices, tapering to a long, harmonious finish echoing the bacon fat seen in the nose and a lingering complexity of earth and berry and forest floor requiring yet another sip, and another.
Pure Hedonist Balance."
Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir
Appellation: Russian River Valley
Aging: 100% French Oak, 20% New
pH: 3.52
TA: 5.58
Alcohol: 14.35%
94 Points
Decadent, rich, and supple. Aromas of black cherry, dark chocolate, crushed stone, dried herbs, and cedar lead into layered notes of cassis, fennel, baked plums, mocha powder, and cigars dusted with roasted Herbs de Provence, earth and red volcanic mineral notes. Full-bodied and rich, with a firm spine of racy acidity and ultra-fine, gravelly tannins that carry the lasting, mouthwatering finish.
93 Points
Aromas of blackcurrant, dark plum, and cedar unfold alongside soft notes of vanilla and toasted oak. On the palate, structured tannins frame layers of black cherry, baking spice, and a subtle herbal lift from the Merlot blended beneath the Cabernet's backbone. Medium-bodied gem with good concentration finishing long and warm, with lingering impressions of cocoa and dried fig.
94 Points
A full-throttle, blackberry-driven red, laden with chalky minerality and layered with robust tannins. Violet scents mingle with fig and plum fruit in a medium- to full-bodied expression that hits all the right chords, delivering a pleasing one-two punch to the senses.
