Pinot Noir

"The 2022 Velvet Sisters Pinot Noir is medium ruby-purple in color. Wow! The nose is pure violets and rose oil, leading to a core of wild blueberries, Morello cherries, and crushed rocks with a touch of wild thyme. The full-bodied palate has a laser-fine, crisp backbone with grainy tannins and intense black and blue fruit layers, finishing on a lingering chalky note...It is sourced from a block within an estate vineyard located at the northern end of Anderson Valley, planted to Dijon clones 115, 667, 777, and Pommard." - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent, April 2024

Wine Enthusiast's Top #100 Wines of 2024 - #63

"The 2022 Pinot Noir Muldune Trail is also from the Anderson Valley and pours a more saturated red/magenta color. On the nose, it boasts deeper notes of woodsy spice, polished cedar, toasted incense, black cherries, and dark soil. Medium to full-bodied, it offers an equally rich structure and an earthy tone, with rich, broad tannins and earthy notes of black tea on the finish. This one is going to benefit another year or so and will drink well 2025-2040." - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com, July 2024

"Like this wine’s Chardonnay counterpart of the same name, the 2022 Pinot Noir Warrior Princess comes from Zena Crown Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills of the Willamette Valley. In the glass, it’s a youthful ruby hue and is floral and ripe with notes of framboise, red apple, violets, brown spice, and pine. I love this site, which provides a fresh lift and mouthwatering feel through the palate, with ripe tannins and a linear feel. It retains its good ripeness and is going to age gracefully over the next 10 years." - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com, June 2024

"The 2022 Pinot Noir Sevens Bench Vineyard is medium red/ruby hue and offers a riper feel, with savory spices and notes of sanguine iron-rich earth, dried cherries, and menthol.  The palate is ripe and inviting, with a plush, mineral-rich texture, with light, gamey richness, ripe tannins, and a clean finish. " - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com, July 2024

"The deep red 2022 Pinot Noir Truly Rita comes from the more southerly area of Santa Barbara and is ripe with aromas of black cherries, wild herbs, gravelly earth, and toasted spices.  Medium-bodied, it has a plush, mineral-rich texture, with light, gamey richness, ripe tannins, and a clean finish.  Drink it over the next 6-8 years." —Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com, July 2024

"Last (but certainly not least) in the wide range of Pinot Noirs from Hartford Court, the 2022 Pinot Noir Arrendell Vineyard is from a site planted in 1975 with the heritage Martini clone, in one of the coolest and lowest yielding sites of the Russian River Valley. The oldest vines they have, the grapes in this vineyard struggle to ripen and are often harvested by Hartford Court well into October. The 2022 was aged for 14 months in 34% new French oak barrels and pours a youthful ruby red hue. On opening, it’s layered with aromas of cherry liqueur, cola spice, leather, toasted cedar, and incense. It reveals a good deal of complexity and has a weightless feel with a velvety texture, sweet tannins, and a clean, long finish with lasting notes of tea leaf. This highly impressive offering is going to show its best over the next 15 years." - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com, June 2024

"Dark red magenta in color, the 2022 Pinot Noir Far Coast Vineyard belongs to the recently added West Sonoma Coast AVA and was aged for 14 months in 32% new French oak barrels. In the glass, it’s ripe with notes of black raspberries, crushed pine needles, licorice, and toasted cedar. Medium-bodied, it has sweet tannin and a good deal of fresh, ripe fruit, with a juicy feel throughout its long-lasting finish. It’s quite charming out of the gate, but it also has a very well-balanced structure and a more interesting level of refined complexity. Drink it over the next 10-15 years." - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com, June 2024

The 2022 Fog Dance Vineyard Pinot Noir is medium ruby-purple in color. Notes of black raspberries, blood orange, and redcurrant jelly pop from the glass, giving way to nuances of graphite, underbrush, and garrigue. The medium to full-bodied palate is tightly wound and intense, with fantastic tension and super fine-grained tannins, finishing long and savory. Native strains were used for alcoholic and malolactic fermentation and the wine is unfined and unfiltered. Fog Dance Vineyard is from a block located on a hillside in Green Valley south of the town of Forestville in an area noted for its nightly fog intrusion.- Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent, April 2024

"Pouring a medium red/ruby color, the 2022 Pinot Noir Seascape Vineyard is expressive and juicy in the glass with notes of mixed berries, raspberries, sweet spices, candied roses, fresh forest earth, and cardamom. On the palate, it reveals a good deal of refinement, with fine tannins and a long, elegant, graceful feel through the finish. Weightless and refined, it will drink well 2024-2040." - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com, June 2024

"Rich ruby with a purple hint, the 2021 Pinot Noir Docker Hill Vineyard is forward with aromas of ripe cherry, sage, and fresh pine. Medium-bodied, it’s ripe with fruit on the palate and has fine, sweet tannins and a clean finish. Fresh with wild herbs, violet, and mixed berries, elegant, and long, it’s drinking well now and will drink well over the next 10 years" - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com, July 2023

"Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2022 Hailey's Block Pinot Noir opens with evocative notes of wild thyme, dried lavender, damp soil, and moss leading to a core of redcurrants, orange peel, and black pepper. The medium to full-bodied palate has firm, fine-grained tannins and a racy backbone providing a firm structure for the bright, muscular fruit, finishing long and tangy...From a very cool spot in Green Valley, Hailey's Block lies within the Arrendell Vineyard and is named after Don and Jennifer Hartford's daughter."- Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent, April 2024

"The 2022 Maclean's Block Pinot Noir is medium ruby-purple in color. Scents of ripe blackberries, mulberries, and boysenberries leap from the glass, followed by nuances of licorice, tar, and underbrush. The medium to full-bodied palate is bursting with blackberry and savory layers, supported by fine-grained tannins and a lively line, finishing earthy...It is named after Don & Jennifer Hartford's son MacLean. MacLean's Block is on a vineyard located on a gentle east-facing slope, east of the town of Occidental."- Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent, April 2024

"Taking on a deeper ruby hue with an edge of youthful pink, the 2021 Pinot Noir Marin County moves into more violet, black raspberry, and fresh soil notes. Medium-bodied, with more richness on the palate, it offers notes of turned soil, tea leaf, juicy blackberries, and pressed flowers as well as ripe, sweet tannins. Rounder and more fruit forward, with a bit of a smoky finish, it’s approachable now or over the next 8-10 years." - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com, July 2023