Paul Hobbs presents a classic rendering of Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. It is a rich yet bright wine that brings together the fruit from some of the region’s best growers. Intense and concentrated, this is the product of a small crop and a long, cool vintage when yields were low and clusters and berries were small.

Hand-harvested fruit, picked at night when a chill hangs in the air, was hand-sorted while still cool from the field. Following a five-day cold soak, the wine was fermented with a small quantity of whole bunches in open-top stainless steel tanks by indigenous yeast. Spontaneous malolactic fermentation occurred after the wine was racked to barrels. The wine was matured in French oak before it was bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Showing deep crimson in the glass, this is a wine with an assertive nose of plush aromatics: Morello cherry, mulberry, baking spice, and red clay. The texture is refined and alluring, giving way to focused flavours of boysenberry, bergamot, and iron through a lengthy finish. Fine-grained tannins, fresh acidity, and a velvety mouthfeel add tension and structure. Pair with juniper berry and rosemary marinated venison steaks, served medium-rare.

“The quintessential 2020 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley is flush with cola spice, grenadine, and sappy forest floor, while the palate opens with generous ripe red fruits of cherry, beet root, and cinnamon.”
93 points, Jeb Dunnuck, August 2022

“Medium ruby-purple, the 2020 Pinot Noir is scented of cranberries, underbrush, tobacco leaves and woodsmoke. The palate is light-bodied, silky and bright with earth-laced fruits and a long, spicy finish.”
93 points, Erin Brooks, Wine Advocate, July 2022