Our Kashaya Pinot Noir from Fort Ross-Seaview has become a staple of our lineup, and it continues to evolve and surprise us. The 2016 is an elegant, finesse-driven wine with copious character and a complex personality. The color is a garnet hue with hints of strawberry and flashes of brilliance. Aromatically, the wine is wide-open and effusive with notes of ripe, candied cherry, potpourri, Asian spice, underbrush and cloves. The mouthfeel is a smooth wave of layer upon layer of texture, carrying flavors of deep red fruits, iron, game and thimbleberry. The finest of tannins grace the long, resounding finish.
I was also able to taste two Sonoma Coast Pinot Noirs from Mike, both meriting attention. The 2016 Pinot Noir Kashaya comes from three different parcels and saw 30% stems. It offers a beautiful, layered, complex style in its darker cherry, underbrush, forest floor, and savory umami and cured meat notes. It's seamless, silky, and pure, with a great finish.
Aged 11 months in 46% new French oak using 25% whole cluster fermentation, the 2016 Pinot Noir Kashaya is pale to medium ruby with a hint of purple. Fragrant earth and dried herbs notions leap from the glass over a core of red cherries, cranberries and redcurrants with touches of fungi, damp soil and mossy bark. The palate is medium-bodied, very fresh, plush and earthy with layers of red fruit and an earth/herbal lift on the long finish.
