2015 Benovia Cohn Vineyard Sonoma County Pinot Noir

14.1% alc., unreleased. An historic 18-acre vineyard first planted in 1970, making it one of the oldest vineyards in the Russian River area. The vineyard is part of a 55-acre ranch purchased in 2003 by Benovia owners Joe Anderson and his spouse, Mary Dewane. This site has also produced celebrated single vineyard wines for Williams Selyem and Kosta Browne. This bottling comes from 9 acres of a massale selection (likely Martini and Pommard clones) of Pinot Noir. · Moderate garnet color in the glass. Shy aromas of grape must and crushed berries. Mid weight flavors of black cherry, black raspberry, earth and smoke framed by silky tannins. Well-structured but not imposing. This is often my favorite wine in the Benovia lineup but this wine is not particularly expressive at this stage, even when tasted the following day from a previously opened and re-corked bottle. I will re-visit this wine in a couple of months. Score: 90-91. Reviewed June 4, 2017

Winery: Benovia Winery