RAEN Sea Field Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Delicate, lifted aromas of rose petals, orange pith, crushed pomegranate and raspberries, with the essence of where-the-forest-meets-the-ocean fill the bowl. Wild strawberries, cool-coastal forest, wet rock, sea moss and blood orange linger. On the palate, wild strawberries, faint violet flowers and distant notes of white tea lead to a seemingly endless finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Pinot Noir Sea Field is a transparent jeweled ruby color and takes things up a notch with its superb aromatics of ripe cherry, gravelly earth, and fresh rose petal. Medium-bodied, with sweet tannins and notes of ripe black raspberry and fresh herbs, it maintains a light sunny touch to its slightly darker profile.
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James Suckling
Extremely aromatic with plums, crushed strawberries, rose flower, powdery dirt, before turning to cherries. Hints of flower stems. Perfumed. Full-bodied and very, very firm. Rather steely. Tight at the end. It opens beautifully in an hour or so.
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Wine Spectator
Shows mulled blood orange, strawberry and raspberry fruit, which meld nicely with a vibrant savory edge, along with hints of red tea and incense. The finish is underscored by crushed sea shell hints, which add nice lingering tension.
Other Vintages
2020-
James
Suckling
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
As winemakers and farmers, Carlo and Dante attribute a great deal of what they have learned to their grandfather Robert and father Tim, both whom influenced them from a young age.
Carlo and Dante’s father Tim was a pioneer for California Pinot Noir in the early 1970s and has always had a tremendous regard for the great wines of Burgundy. To this day his Pinot Noirs from the 1970s are showing incredibly well. Carlo and Dante credit their father’s passion for Pinot Noir as the early inspiration that got them excited at a young age.
Dante studied abroad in Switzerland at the Webster University in Genève as well at UC Davis in California. Carlo studied in France at the University of Aix-en-Provence and in Italy at the University of Milan. After their formal studies were complete Carlo and Dante continued their educational work with the winemaking team lead by their father Tim Mondavi at Robert Mondavi Winery and Opus One.
When Robert Mondavi Winery was sold in 2004, the brothers joined their father Tim, Aunt-Marcia and grandfather Robert as they founded Continuum in 2005.
In 2013 Carlo and Dante founded RAEN winery with the goal to produce world class Pinot Noir on the western hills of the Sonoma Coast. RAEN currently focuses on making three Pinot Noirs, from three unique sites on the Sonoma Coast.
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.”
On the far western edge of the larger Sonoma Coast appellation, the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA hugs right up against the Pacific coast. Vineyards, planted at rugged elevations between 920 to 1,800 feet, occupy only two percent of the total land in the AVA. Fort Ross-Seaview growers believe that the region boasts an ideal mix of sunshine, cool air and beneficial stress for producing high quality Chardonnay and Pinot noir.