2016 Talisman Pinot Noir Gunsalus Vineyard Russian River Valley

WSI93+ IWR92 The Gunsalus Vineyard Pinot Noir offers an attractive bouquet of strawberries and red currants along with a combination of exotic spices, forest floor, sassafras and a dusting of dark chocolate. Silky smooth on the mouth, the wine has layered flavors of red berries, cherry, and dried spice continue to expand through the wine. Overall, this is a gorgeous Pinot Noir that is elegant, refined and delicious in its youth, it should also age beautifully.
WE91 Rich and rewarding, this is a hearty, full-bodied and immensely opulent wine, velvety in texture with plenty of length. Blueberry and dark cherry fruit complement an unshakeable core of forest floor and spicy cardamom.
Estate Notes: A beautifully aromatic bouquet of cola, clove, mulberry, plum, nutmeg, bay leaf and orange peel with amazing floral notes of plumeria and rose petal. This Pinot noir shows graceful acidity, bright rich tannins and a soft texture; full bodied and sexy with juicy flavors of black currant, cassis, persimmon, cream soda; a bit like fresh strawberries with balsamic glaze. It’s very lovely and a little mischievous…We picked the grapes at Gunsalus on September 7th. Similar to the previous year, the stems were well lignified, so we included nearly 30% as a whole cluster contribution. The grapes were sorted and destemmed, then cold soaked until a feral fermentation took off about six days after harvest. The fermentation, along with frequent punch-downs, went to completion eight days later, when the fermenter was sealed up for an extended maceration. Barrel aging: 19 months, 57% new French oak. 357 cases produced