Dutton-Goldfield Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir

Russian River Valley, California

Dutton-Goldfield Winery began in a vineyard in 1998, when longtime colleagues and friends Steve Dutton and Dan Goldfield recognized a shared vision between them—to craft wines that express the personalities of their vineyards, and which they’d enjoy drinking at their own dinner tables. Our mission is to produce world-class wines that display the brightness of fruit, complexity, structure and balance that are reflective of our cool coastal home.

Tasting Notes

This vintage is voluptuous and the wines expressive of their place. The beautiful dark ruby saturated color hints to the lushness of the wine to come, and the nose confirms this impression, popping with a berry bowl of both bright and darker fruit. Boysenberry, cherry, and blueberry dance over sandalwood and baking spice bottom notes, while a scent of purple flowers adds a pretty touch. Plush and supple berry compote juicy goodness takes you through to the lingering finish.

This crowd-pleaser pinot will be happy accompanying fish to fowl, along with savory side dishes that include mushrooms or earthy roasted root vegetables. We think an aged Gouda makes the perfect cheese match.

The mild 2021 season gave us a measured, moderate year and harvest, letting us bring in the fruit exactly when we wanted. Due to the dry year, ripening came on the early side, with our Ruxton vineyard beginning things on August 27, and the last vineyards in this blend from Goff and Galante coming in September 8.

The fruit is hand sorted prior to destemming then gravity fed into small open top fermenters where the must is then cold-soaked for 5 days in order to gently extract spice and fruit characters, while mitigating harsher tannins. We punch down up to 3 times daily, depending on the stage of the fermentation and the nature of the vineyard. Each vineyard block is fermented separately in order to maintain typicity, and to provide us with the most flexibility for blending. Our Pinots generally spend 14 to 20 days on the skins, according to the need of each fermentation. After fermentation, the individual lots are pressed and then racked into French oak barrels to age. We carefully blend our favorite lots in early spring. The final blend rests in barrel six months, marrying flavors and gaining complexity, until we bottle in August with minimal processing.

WINEMAKING: Open top fermentation, cold soak, punch down. BARREL AGING: 10 months in French oak (40% new barrels)

Dutton Ranch farms over eighty unique vineyards located in the coolest areas of the Russian River Valley, primarily in the Green Valley sub-appellation. The Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir blend represents our vision for the character of this special region: juicy berry fruit in both the nose and the mouth, solid structure with fine tannins, and alluring balance. Bush, Galante, Emerald Ridge, Goff, and Jentoft are all in the heart of Green Valley, and each contributes a unique variation of Green Valley fruit to heighten the complexity of the blend. Ruxton is high on Stoetz Ridge on the western edge of the Russian River Valley and brings great color and focus to the mix. All of these vineyards are Sonoma County Certified Sustainable.

Alcohol:  13.5%
Ta: 6.3 g/L
pH: 3.58

Tasting Notes

Notes of deep dark cherry and blackberry lead the nose, weaved through with rhubarb and violets adding their savory and floral accents. The aromas become more saturated and dense with time in the glass, showing candied raspberry and earthy peat top and bottom notes. The mouth is full, rich, and sleek, with a tempting mix of black raspberry and baking spices creating a sultry caress across your palate. A brooding yet fresh finish lingers well into your next sip. Play up the silky texture with similar foods like slow-cooked salmon, succulent duck or pork, or mushroom risotto. An aged Gouda or young Cantal would make great cheese matches.

Savory notes of rhubarb, beet, and thyme back up the fruit, making this easy-pairing wine great with everything from warm chicken salad and silky grilled salmon to roasted duck and braised rabbit.

With a long, cool season like 2019, we were able to ripen our pinot evenly and gently, allowing us the luxury of zeroing in on our perfect picking date. We harvested our first vineyards for this blend on September 10, and our last on October 1.

The fruit is hand sorted prior to destemming then gravity fed into small open top fermenters where the must is then cold-soaked for 5 days in order to gently extract spice and fruit characters while mitigating harsher tannins. We punch down up to 3 times daily, depending on the stage of the fermentation and the nature of the vineyard. Each vineyard block is fermented separately in order to maintain typicity and to provide us with the most flexibility for blending. Our Pinots generally spend 14 to 20 days on the skins, according to the need of each fermentation. After fermentation, the individual lots are pressed and then racked into French oak barrels to age. We carefully blend our favorite lots in early spring. The final blend rests in barrel six months, marrying flavors and gaining complexity, until we bottle in August with minimal processing.

Dutton Ranch farms over eighty unique vineyards located in the coolest areas of the Russian River Valley, primarily in the Green Valley sub-appellation. The Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir blend represents our vision for the character of this special region: juicy berry fruit in both the nose and the mouth, solid structure with fine tannins, and alluring balance. Bush, Campbell, Galante, Emerald Ridge, Silva, Hallberg, and Jentoft are all in the heart of Green Valley, and each contributes a unique variation of Green Valley fruit to heighten the complexity of the blend. Morelli Lane and Ruxton are high on Stoetz Ridge on the western edge of the Russian River Valley and offer a bit of warmer cherry fruit to the mix. Freestone is in the far southwestern corner of the appellation, and contributes its killer depth and spice to the base notes of the blend. All of these vineyards are Sonoma County Certified Sustainable.

Alcohol:  13.5% Ta: 6.0 g/L pH: 3.5 Barrel Aging:  10 months in French oak (40% new barrels) Winemaker:  Dan Goldfield

Tasting Notes

The nose of the 2018 Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir leads with succulent mixed berry pie laced with baking spices. The blueberry, raspberry, and boysenberry are interlaced with pretty lilac and violet notes, along with a little redwood duff. There’s a plush feeling to the wine, even from the aromas, which is confirmed in the mouth. It has that wonderful quality of richness without heaviness, with the sweet berry pie flavors rolling out on a layer of silk.

Savory notes of rhubarb, beet, and thyme back up the fruit, making this easy-pairing wine great with everything from warm chicken salad and silky grilled salmon to roasted duck and braised rabbit.

The fruit is hand sorted prior to destemming then gravity fed into small open top fermenters where the must is then cold-soaked for 5 days in order to gently extract spice and fruit characters, while mitigating harsher tannins. We punch down up to 3 times daily, depending on the stage of the fermentation and the nature of the vineyard. Each vineyard block is fermented separately in order to maintain typicity, and to provide us with the most flexibility for blending. Our Pinots generally spend 14 to 20 days on the skins, according to the need of each fermentation. After fermentation, the individual lots are pressed and then racked into French oak barrels to age. We carefully blend our favorite lots in early spring. The final blend rests in barrel six months, marrying flavors and gaining complexity, until we bottle in August with minimal processing.

Dutton Ranch farms over eighty unique vineyards located in the coolest areas of the Russian River Valley, primarily in the Green Valley sub-appellation. The Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir blend represents our vision for the character of this special region: juicy berry fruit in both the nose and the mouth, solid structure with fine tannins, and alluring balance. Bush, Campbell, Galante, Emerald Ridge, Silva, Hallberg, and Jentoft are all in the heart of Green Valley, and each contributes a unique variation of Green Valley fruit to heighten the complexity of the blend. Morelli Lane and Ruxton are high on Stoetz Ridge on the western edge of the Russian River Valley and offer a bit of warmer cherry fruit to the mix. Freestone is in the far southwestern corner of the appellation, and contributes its killer depth and spice to the base notes of the blend. All of these vineyards are Sonoma County Certified Sustainable.

Alcohol:  13.5% Ta: 5.9 g/L pH: 3.55 Barrel Aging:  10 months in French oak (40% new barrels) Winemaker:  Dan Goldfield

Our 2017 Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir leads with a beautiful combination of sweet berries and woodsy spice, with black cherry, raspberry, and boysenberry aromas framed with violets, redwood brush, and cinnamon. In the mouth, the wine is both silky and lithe yet firm, with juicy sweet cherry and blackberry flavors edged with cranberry and spice box.

Tasting Notes

The winter rains and mild summer weather made for beautiful canopies on our pinot vineyards in 2017, helping protect the grapes from the Labor Day weekend heat spike. Two of the core vineyards in the blend were picked in late August, the majority of the remainder came in the following week, with the last few harvested by the end of September. Our 2017 Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir leads with a beautiful combination of sweet berries and woodsy spice, with black cherry, raspberry, and boysenberry aromas framed with violets, redwood brush, and cinnamon. In the mouth, the wine is both silky and lithe yet firm, with juicy sweet cherry and blackberry flavors edged with cranberry and spice box

This crowd-pleaser of a wine matches with anything from a chunk of Manchego to mushroom pizza, or pasta to roasted guinea fowl or lamb kabobs.

The winter rains and mild summer weather made for beautiful canopies on our pinot vineyards in 2017, helping protect the grapes from the Labor Day weekend heat spike. Two of the core vineyards in the blend were picked in late August, the majority of the remainder came in the following week, with the last few harvested by the end of September.

The fruit is hand sorted prior to destemming then gravity fed into small open top fermenters where the must is then cold-soaked for 5 days in order to gently extract spice and fruit characters, while mitigating harsher tannins. We punch down up to 3 times daily, depending on the stage of the fermentation and the nature of the vineyard. Each vineyard block is fermented separately in order to maintain typicity, and to provide us with the most flexibility for blending. Our Pinots generally spend 14 to 20 days on the skins, according to the need of each fermentation. After fermentation, the individual lots are pressed and then racked into French oak barrels to age. We carefully blend our favorite lots in early spring. The final blend rests in barrel six months, marrying flavors and gaining complexity, until we bottle in August with minimal processing.

Dutton Ranch farms over eighty unique vineyards located in the coolest areas of the Russian River Valley, primarily in the Green Valley sub-appellation. The Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir blend represents our vision for the character of this special region: juicy berry fruit in both the nose and the mouth, solid structure with fine tannins, and alluring balance. Bush, Campbell, Galante, Emerald Ridge, Silva, Hallberg, Goff, Widdoes, and Jentoft are all in the heart of Green Valley, and each contributes a unique variation of Green Valley fruit to heighten the complexity of the blend. Morelli Lane and Ruxton are high on Stoetz Ridge on the western edge of the Russian River Valley and offer a bit of warmer cherry fruit to the mix. Freestone is in the far southwestern corner of the appellation, and contributes its killer depth and spice to the base notes of the blend. All of these vineyards are Sonoma County Certified Sustainable.

Alcohol:  13.5% Ta: 5.6 g/L pH: 3.54 Barrel Aging:  10 months in French oak (40% new barrels) Winemaker:  Dan Goldfield

Tasting Notes

Our 2016 Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir leads with high-energy fruit aromas of deep, dark black cherry leaping out of the glass. Plush black raspberry notes follow, complemented by a rhubarb earthiness and rose petal floral notes. In the mouth, the wine is both rich and lively, one of our favorite qualities of great Pinots, with juicy blackberry flavors edged with redwood and spice box. The finish is especially succulent, bringing you back for another sip.

This crowd-pleaser of a wine offers versatility in pairing, matching with anything from a chunk of aged Gouda to eggplant parmesan, pasta or pizza to roasted game birds or lamb.

Our 2016 season got off to an early start due to the mild winter. A cool summer followed, giving us a long season that allowed our Pinots to develop slowly, packing the berries with flavor. The long growing season also gave us Pinots with great acidity and balance.

The fruit is hand sorted prior to destemming then gravity fed into small open top fermenters where the must is then cold-soaked for 5 days in order to gently extract spice and fruit characters, while mitigating harsher tannins. We punch down up to 3 times daily, depending on the stage of the fermentation and the nature of the vineyard. Each vineyard block is fermented separately in order to maintain typicity, and to provide us with the most flexibility for blending. Our Pinots generally spend 14 to 20 days on the skins, according to the need of each fermentation. After fermentation, the individual lots are pressed and then racked into French oak barrels to age. We carefully blend our favorite lots in early spring. The final blend rests in barrel six months, marrying flavors and gaining complexity, until we bottle in August with minimal processing.

Dutton Ranch farms over eighty unique vineyards located in the coolest areas of the Russian River Valley, primarily in the Green Valley sub-appellation. The Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir blend represents our vision for the character of this special region: juicy berry fruit in both the nose and the mouth, solid structure with fine tannins, and alluring balance. Galante, Silva, Emerald Ridge, Widdoes, Martens, and Jentoft are all in the heart of Green Valley, and each contributes a unique variation of Green Valley fruit to heighten the complexity of the blend. Morelli Lane is high on Stoetz Ridge on the western edge of the Russian River Valley and offers a bit of warmer cherry fruit to the mix. Freestone is in the far southwestern corner of the appellation, and contributes its killer depth and spice to the base notes of the blend.

Alcohol:  13.5% Ta: 5.8 g/L pH: 3.60 Barrel Aging:  10 months in French oak (40% new barrels)

  • 92

    points

    Wine Spectator, September 2021

    "Fine-edged, with hints of tangerine to the cherry tart and plum paste flavors that are juicy and supported by rich acidity. The lively finish offers notes of cedar and spice, with hints of coffeeberry. Drink now through 2026. 2,965 cases made."

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  • 93

    points

    Tasting Panel, July 2020

    "Rich ruby color, one of Sonoma’s most iconic vineyards, smooth, intense and deep with tangy acidity and lovely black cherry fruit; balanced and long."

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  • 94

    points

    Wine Enthusiast, February 2021

    "From multiple certified-sustainable sites, including Campbell, Morelli Lane and Hallberg, this well-made wine is solid in crisp red-currant fruit and a dusting of dried herb. Rounded and balanced in richness, it offers a persistence of freshness and earthiness that compel."

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  • 92

    points

    Wine Enthusiast, June 2019

    "Tart, tangy and intensely earthy, this is a concentrated, youthful and full-throttled flavored wine, with plenty of balanced acidity to keep it fresh and structured. Cardamom and black tea provide a savory complement to the vibrant energy."

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  • 90

    points

    Don Winkler, International Wine Review, March 2018

    "This is Dutton Goldfield’s entry level Pinot Noir made of a blend of Green Valley vineyard parcels and, as might be expected, it’s very fresh, easy drinking. There’s an abundance of red cherry fruit, good acidity, and a pleasing, firm backbone. Straightforward and delicious. This wine is a blend of eight different Russian River Valley vineyards, each separately fermented and then aged 10 months in 40% new barriques."

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  • 91

    points

    James Suckling, May 2019

    "What a beautiful ripe-cherry nose this has, and there are so many delicate herbal and spicy notes that keep pulling you back to the glass. Nice concentration, polished tannins and bright acidity make for appealing and food-friendly harmony. Might become more polished at the finish with a bit more aging. Drink or hold."

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  • 91

    points

    Virginie Boone, Wine Enthusiast, September 2018

    "From a selection of fine vineyards from throughout the appellation, this wine impresses in its stemmy earthy character of forest pine and fresh light-bodied juicy layers of strawberry, rhubarb and tangerine. This is a widely appealing wine that's balanced and bright."

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TRADE & MEDIA ASSETS /////////////////

2021 Dutton-Goldfield Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir – Tasting Note

2019 Dutton-Goldfield Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir WS92 – Sales Sheet

2019 Dutton-Goldfield Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir – Tasting Note

2018 Dutton-Goldfield Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir – Tasting Note

Dutton-Goldfield Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir – Shelftalker

Dutton-Goldfield Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir Review History – Sales Sheet

2017 Dutton-Goldfield Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir – Tasting Note

Dutton-Goldfield Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir – Bottle

2016 Dutton-Goldfield Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir – Tasting Note

2016 Dutton-Goldfield Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir – Label

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