2023 BloodRoot - Pinot Noir Sonoma County (750ml)

BloodRoot is the brainchild of Noah and Kelly Dorrance, the husband-and-wife team behind Reeve Wines, which Noah launched in 2015 after first co-founding Banshee Wines back in 2009. BloodRoot operates as something of an open secret in the California wine world: a collaboration among acclaimed, anonymous winemakers who also craft bottlings for some of the state's most celebrated labels, wines that typically sell for four or five times the price and rack up scores well into the nineties. The goal here is simple, to bring that same level of talent and vineyard access to a wine that overdelivers at a fraction of the cost.

This Pinot Noir draws fruit from a range of vineyards across Sonoma County, with the bulk coming from the Russian River Valley, supplemented by fruit from neighboring Marin and Mendocino counties. The vines grow largely in Goldridge sandy loam and clay soils, well suited to Pinot Noir's need for good drainage and moderate vigor. Roughly fifteen percent of the fruit was fermented as whole clusters, and the wine spent eighteen months aging in French oak, only twenty percent of it new.

The 2023 vintage offers macerated blackberry, wild strawberry, and warm baking spice, layered with black tea, cinnamon, and earthy undertones. The palate stays velvety and polished, with fine tannins carrying the fruit through a long finish. It pairs nicely with herb-roasted chicken, grilled salmon, or a wedge of aged gruyère.