Hartford Court Warrior Princess Block Pinot Noir 2017
-
Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The wine has a deep ruby hue with complex aromas of Chinese five spice, sandalwood and dried rose petal; the framework of the wine’s aromatic profile is dark blueberry and blackberry. Focused aromatics are followed by complex flavors of fresh cherry, berry liqueur, violet pastille, allspice, and juniper. Fine grain tannins shape the persistent, spiced finish.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Spectator
Impressive combination of plush California fruit and savory, tension-filled Oregon structure. Supple and rich raspberry, thyme and stony mineral accents build toward fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2028.
-
James Suckling
Showing earthy, foresty complexity already, this has red cherries and a spicy thread, as well as leafy tones. The palate is quite open and fluid and builds a gently grainy tannin texture at the finish. Drink or hold.
Other Vintages
2018-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker
Making delicious wines of high personality is directly related to the difficult locations of the Hartford family's vineyard sources, the limited production of their bottlings and the varietals they use. "Character through adversity" is an expression that the Hartford family believes to apply to both people and grapevines, and they feel that surviving adversity builds character, and personality, in both.
The Hartford Family makes wines under two marks, one of which is Hartford Court. Hartford Court bottlings are small lots of high-personality single vineyard Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays that express the distinctive qualities inherent in each vineyard's terroir - the interplay of soil, slope, exposure and climate. The fruit is sourced from the Russian River Valley, Green Valley and Sonoma Coast appellations.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Running north to south, adjacent to the Willamette River, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has shallow and well-drained soils created from ancient lava flows (called Jory), marine sediments, rocks and alluvial deposits. These soils force vine roots to dig deep, producing small grapes with great concentration.
Like in the McMinnville sub-AVA, cold Pacific air streams in via the Van Duzer Corridor and assists the maintenance of higher acidity in its grapes. This great concentration, combined with marked acidity, give the Eola-Amity Hills wines—namely Pinot noir—their distinct character. While the region covers 40,000 acres, no more than 1,400 acres are covered in vine.