The Prisoner Wine Company Eternally Silenced Pinot Noir 2018

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Deep ruby color; dense, deep, herbal berry aromas; deep, ripe, forward berry flavors with moderate oak and tannin; good structure and balance; long finish. Dense and deep Pinot.

Russell Family Vineyard in located in the Templeton Gap area of Paso Robles. It's a relatively warm site for Pinot Noir, but the amazing amount of limestone in the soil allows the vines to retain great acidity.

All traditional Pinot pairings as well as steak and lamb

Review:

Deep ruby color; dense, deep, herbal berry aromas; deep, ripe, forward berry flavors with moderate oak and tannin; good structure and balance; long finish. Dense and deep Pinot that needs a good two hours of air to open up.

Pinot Report 93 Points

"Red cherries laced with crushed allspice and cloves also benefit from dried violets, graphite and loamy soil on the nose of this rare Pinot from Paso. The palate is not quite so boisterous but quite good still, with a bit of concentrated plum juice, Bing cherries, raspberry and a tinge of sagebrush throughout. - Matt Kettmann"

- Wine Enthusiast (August 1st 2015), 93 pts

Merry Edwards Winery Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir. 

The enticing profile of this elegant Pinot Noir was created by blending together individual lots made from several different clonal selections. The grapes come from diverse sites bordering the Sonoma County coast, and each vineyard is influenced by its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, which is just a few miles away. In the late afternoon, marine winds carry cool fog to blanket these sites, sometimes until late the next morning. This weather pattern lengthens the “hang time” of the grapes on the vine, allowing complex flavors to develop.

The wine possesses a deep ruby opaque color with a garnet red rim. On the nose, it offers aromas of bright Bing cherry with hints of licorice, subtle forest floor and open inviting notes of rose petal, vanilla and baking spices. Rich and lively upon entry, the mouth begins with fruit forward notes of crunchy raspberries and red cherries. Silky tannins are supported by well-balanced acidity and mocha notes throughout a long finish.

Pairs well with potato-crusted salmon, parmesan portobello risotto, chicken macadamia, spicy quinoa with asparagus and shiitake mushrooms.

Review:

-Wine Enthisiast 94 Points

Holocene Apocrypha Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.

Apocrypha Pinot Noir tends to showcase the blue and black end of the fruit spectrum, along with a brambly, floral, dried sage and thyme profile, higher acid than the Memorialis and more power.

We tend to enjoy this wine with lamb merguez sausage and saffron rice.

Review:

"Coming from more volcanic, south-facing soils, the 2018 Pinot Noir Apocrypha was 15% destemmed and will see 16 months in 20% new barrels. It’s a slightly darker-hued and darker fruited effort offering lots of blue fruits, iron, violets, and mineral aromatics. While it was basically not destemmed, there are no obvious stems on either the nose or palate, and it’s beautifully balanced, has bright acidity, medium to full-bodied richness, and a great finish. It’s another rock star of a Pinot Noir from Todd Alexander."
- Jeb Dunnuck (April 2020), 94-96 pts

Holocene Memorialis Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir. 

Holocene Pinot Noir Memorialis is a blend of 777, Pommard and 115 clones from MonksGate vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, and it saw about 20% new French oak for 16 months prior to bottling. It is always the lighter and more feminine of the two Holocene wines, with red fruits, white flowers, dried herbs, mushroom and forest floor aromatics, bright acidity and a lithe texture, long finish.

Review:

"Showing beautifully, with a Côte de Nuit-like nose of darker cherries, strawberries, sappy herbs, baking spices, and flowers, the 2018 Pinot Noir Memorialis is medium to full-bodied and has a gorgeously textured, layered mouthfeel, present tannins, and a solid spine of acidity. It would give many a Grand Cru Red Burgundy a run for its money in a blind tasting."

- Jeb Dunnuck (May 2021), 95 pts

Argot Bastard Tongue Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Sonoma Pinot Noir.

Inheriting an unbroken string of success, the “Bastard Tongue” arrives fully-formed and ready to impress. Always a blend from multiple Pinot Noir vineyards, this iteration of “BT” was selected from three distinct sites, each making their own unique contribution of Sonoma County terroir to the wine’s character.

Exploding forth on a tidal wave of high-toned, intense red and black fruits, this is a Pinot Noir that no stemware can contain. The palate’s profound depth is balanced by an inherent freshness, allowing the wine to crackle with brambly energy, while sustained by bass notes of underbrush, black tea, pie spice and baker’s chocolate. A formidable rendition of “Bastard Tongue”, and a deserving successor to its line.

Night harvested by hand throughout September, cluster and berry sorted by hand, de-stemmed, no crushing. 7-day cold soaks, followed by native fermentation in open-top bins. Average time on the skins, 14 days. Aging 20 months in French oak, 100% new. Never racked prior to bottling. Bottled unfined, unfiltered.

Very versatile for pairing. Goes well with grilled meat, vegetable, fish, poultry and cheese.

Review:

"A more limited production cuvée, the 2018 Pinot Noir Bastard Tongue is a big, ripe, sexy beast of a Pinot Noir delivering loads of black cherry and black raspberry fruit intermixed with plenty of spring flowers, sappy herb, and forest-like nuances. Full-bodied, it has a hedonistic, sweetly fruited style, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It doesn’t pull any punches yet stays balanced, textured, and a joy to drink. It should keep for 5-7 years or so.”

- Jeb Dunnuck, 95 pts

Argot Pinot Noir Sonoma County is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.

Everything you have come to expect from an Argot Pinot Noir, shone through the filter of a textbook-perfect vintage. We simply can not get over the quality of fruit this wine displays! Intense, yet fresh; fruity, yet spicy; brambly, yet juicy; immediate, yet lingering. A Pinot Noir that displays the variety’s natural come-hither attitude, while succinctly capturing its intriguing nature. There are not enough superlatives to describe this wine. Almost too easy to love!

VINEYARD   Multiple vineyards throughout Sonoma County, including both valley floor and high-elevation hillside sites
PRODUCTION   600 cases
VARIETAL   100% Pinot Noir
CRUSH   Night harvested by hand beginning in mid-September, concluding at our coolest sit on October 13. Cluster and berry sorted by hand, de-stemmed, no crushing
FERMENT   7-day cold soaks, followed by native fermentation in open-top containers, with the grapes fermenting on their skins for an average time of 14 days.
AGING   16 months, French oak barrels, 7% new, remainder once-used.  Never racked prior to bottling.  Bottled un-fined, unfiltered.
NOTES Singularly great. 2018 was an all-time vintage for California’s North Coast, achieving rarely before experienced heights. A mild summer gave way to Autumnal perfection, allowing cooler areas the opportunity to ripen their crop while chemistries remained perfect. What arrives in bottle is nothing short of a pinnacle representation of Sonoma County Pinot Noir — profound depth of pure, red Pinot Noir fruits, caressing textures balanced by deep minerality and a quenching acidity.