Wines

WINES


Our wines come from estate vineyards that we farm ourselves, or are farmed under our control. All of our wines are made in small lots, hand-sorted, punched down by hand, and barreled in oak barriques from select coopers. We taste through every barrel monthly. As a result, the production is limited and allocated.  

We craft Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel from the Russian Valley, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cab Franc from our vineyard on Sonoma Mountain.

We only source grapes from vineyards that we feel have the potential to be worthy of single-vineyard designation. Sometimes the wine is such good quality that it is hard to make the cut at time of barrel selection for final blending of wines. Just about all the barrels are highly deserving. Other times, we may decide that an entire vintage from a given vineyard is not quite good enough to be presented as a single-vineyard offering. In such times we may declassify the entire lot and put it in with the Appellation Series. After a number of years' experience with a given vineyard, when it has proven itself with consistently superior wines, we may create a Reserve Series wine from those barrels that are most distinctive.

Thus, we have three wine levels: 
Reserve Series
The Reserve Series, for our most distinctive wines, carefully selected from particular barrels. These wines reflect strongly our winemaking preferences. These are seductive, racy, arousing wines, not tame.

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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate Scores:

ALCMAN 94+
ALCAEUS 92+
SAPPHO 90
TÒ ÉRGON 93+

Single Vineyard Series
The Single-Vineyard Wines, for wines that have proven individual character and consistent superior quality. These wines stand out, and show characters that would be muted or blended out in the Appellation Series.

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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate Scores:

FLYWAY 92+
NURMI 92+
PAGNANO 93
SIEBERT 94
BERGER 93+



Appellation Series
The Appellation Series Wines, which are blended from barrels of the same wine that goes into the higher tiers, but which are not quite at the same level. We aim for character expressing the appellation rather than the individual vineyard.

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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate Scores:

RRV CHARDONNAY 90
RRV PINOT NOIR 91

As we are a small winery focused upon hand-made small lots of the finest wine possible, and we do not source a second tier of grapes specifically for our Appellation Series wines, we consequently do not produce nor have available large volumes of Appellation Series wines. Our goal when taking in grapes is that all of the grapes should make wine worthy of Single-Vineyard designation. 

For some vintages that ideal comes close to realization, and the  basis for selecting barrels for the Reserve and Single-Vineyard wines is less about quality of the wine per se, and more about  the interest and character of that particular barrel, and how it will enhance or mute an effect in the ultimate blend. 

In such years, the Appellation Series wines rise above the very good to the extraordinary. Of course, due to blending with multiple vineyards, these wines present less individual character from any one vineyard, but this may in many tasters' minds be an advantage. 

Reserve Wines

  • Russian River Valley, "Alcman"

    Alcman is a reserve Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley, named after the 7th century BCE Greek lyric poet. The palate is packed with black and blue fruit flavors, accented by earth and spice notes, with seductive aromas of black cherries, wild blueberries and pomegranate plus hints of baking spices, lilac, and black pepper, with a lingering grainy-tannin finish.  WA 94+ points


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  • Single-Vineyard Wines

    Appellation Wines

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