PINOT NOIR

The myriad of dark fruit and floral notes in this Pinot Noir come from the cool, windy Los Carneros American Viticultural Area (AVA) in the southern reaches of Napa Valley. Satsuma plum, blackberry, red rose and violet notes weave through the enticing aromas, mingled with warm nuances of vanilla and toasted oak from barrel aging. Silky, elegant flavors echo the aromas, adding blueberry and plum to the rich fruit complexity. You'll find this wine's lush flavors, bright acidity and fine tannins are perfectly balanced to complement a broad range of foods, from grilled salmon and chicken, to lamb and wild mushrooms.

Since its founding, Chalk Hill has been producing artisan wines from their Estate vineyards in the hills of northeastern Sonoma County. For four decades they studied, prodded, and coaxed their complex terroir to ensure that their Estate wines deliver vivid aromatics, commanding flavors, great character, and regional accuracy. While their 300+ acres of vineyards surrounding the winery will always be the cornerstone of their identity, starting with the 2012 vintage, they started producing our first Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. This 2017 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir comes from extraordinary vineyards throughout Sonoma County, consisting primarily of Foley Family estate Vineyards and fruit from some of the best sites in Carneros, Russian River Valley, Sonoma Valley, and Sonoma Coast.

This wine is dark ruby in color and showcases strawberry, black cherry, oriental spice and toasty oak on the nose. Flavors of strawberry, and juicy cherry round out the palate with vanilla undertones and a bright acidity. The finish on this Pinot Noir lingers with a velvety softness and notes of maraschino cherry and sweet vanilla oak. Overall, this is a fruit-forward style that can be enjoyed in its youth or aged for another few years.

ANTONIO GALLONI'S VINOUS MEDIA 90 POINTS - "Bright red. Fresh red berry and candied rose scents show impressive clarity and energy. Gently sweet and vibrant in style, displaying seamless texture and mineral-tinged raspberry and spicecake flavors that slowly fan out on the back half. Closes with sharp focus, repeating spiciness and fine-grained tannins that lend shape and subtle grip."

ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE 90 POINTS - "Medium ruby-purple, the 2017 Pinot Noir has an inviting nose of cinnamon stick, autumn leaves, aniseed, crushed black cherries, earth and potpourri. It's medium-bodied with dark fruits, firm, grainy tannins and good freshness, finishing on a spicy note. 423 cases produced."

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A 375mL BOTTLE

JEB DUNNUCK 95 POINTS - "A crazy good value, the 2017 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley is the appellation release from this team, and it comes from all of the estate vineyards across the Green Valley, Laguna Ridge, and Sebastopol regions. Complex notes of strawberries, cranberries, violets, pine forest, and flowers all flow to a medium-bodied Pinot Noir that has a kiss of salinity and marine notes, ripe tannins, and a great finish. This beautiful wine competes with wines costing 2-3 times the price."

Aromas of pomegranate and sweet tobacco are followed by flavors of berry fruit and plums with subtle hints of exotic spice and toast. On the palate, the wine has balanced acidity and fine tannins that drive a long finish.

WINE ADVOCATE 91 POINTS - "The 2017 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast comes from fruit across the appellation including Russian River and Carneros. It aged nine months in 25% new oak. Pale to medium ruby, it has a bright, inviting nose of cranberries, woodsmoke, cola, bergamot and crushed black cherries with accents of earth, sweet spice, citrus peel and flowers. It's light to medium-bodied, silky and bursting with ripe fruits, enlivened by juicy acidity and finishing long and lifted. This is a great value! 253,000 cases produced."

WINE SPECTATOR 90 POINTS - "Lively oral components accent the finely textured flavors of red currant and dried red cherry, matched to rm acidity. Lithe and minerally on the finish."

This Pinot Noir was crafted almost entirely with fruit from Olson Ranch, a spectacular vineyard in the Central Coast's Santa Lucia Highlands appellation known for producing elegant, nuanced Pinot Noir. This phenomenal site is heavily in fluenced by the nearby Pacific Ocean, making this a cool and windy site characterized by clay loam soils over fractured limestone. The Pinot Noir grapes grown here deliver classic, cool-climate Pinot flavors of red cherry and raspberry. Deep ruby in color, MacMurray's Central Coast Pinot Noir opens with delicate notes of black cherry, raspberry and pomegranate, accented by a distinct spice character that typifies Olson Ranch . Velvety soft tannins meld with ripe red fruit flavors to create a smooth mouth feel and long finish.

JEB DUNNUCK 91 POINTS - "A larger production cuvee, the appellation 2017 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast is well worth seeking out, offering a charming, forward, medium-bodied style as well as lots of textbook spiced red fruits, pine forest, and underbrush-like aromas and flavors. Enjoy bottles over the coming 3-5 years."

ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE 90 POINTS - "The 2017 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast was made with 100% whole cluster and aged in 45% new oak. Pale to medium ruby-purple, it has expressive aromas of red and black cherries, roasted cranberries, woodsmoke and orange peel with a classy frame of allspice-like new oak plus earth and charcuterie touches. It's light to medium-bodied and silky with good intensity, mouthwatering acidity and grainy tannins, finishing long."

This classic Carneros region Pinot Noir offers a wide range of flavors and aromas, in the tradition of the finest red Burgundies of France. "Clonal diversity" is achieved by carefully blending several vineyard lots, each retaining its own unique clonal signature in the blend. The result is a complex wine with a rich bouquet of cherries, berries and hints of spicy new oak. It has flavors reminiscent of black cherry, currant and strawberry, followed by a rich, spicy texture and a long silky finish. This wine pairs nicely with lamb, duck, even grilled fish, and will improve with additional cellaring for 2 to 5 years.

Thee Two Sisters wines are named after Bill and Carol Foley's daughters Lindsay and Courtney. The wines come from the best blocks of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Lindsay's and Courtney's vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. These limited-production bottlings feature heritage, heirloom and select clones chosen specifically for their inherent attributes and compatibility with the terroir of each vineyard block.

Only 387 cases were produced, so readers will be smart to snatch this up while they can, because this WILL sell out! The Two Sisters PInot Noir has earth tone aromatics of fresh tobacco with fruit notes of black cherry and Chambord. This rich and weighty Pinot Noir with beautiful nuances of black pepper, blackberry, boysenberries, black currant leaf, forest floor, and earth is both full-bodied, fruity, and savory at the same time. The oak is reminiscent of espresso and dried hibiscus tea complimented by pops of red fruit tones and a finish of dark blueberry fruit.