Vagon Rouge
Pinot Noir

Russian River Valley

Vagon Rouge Pinot NoirKid In The Candy Store

We’re prone to Willie Wonka analogies with this wine, simply because each year we’re the proverbial kids in the candy store, tasting and searching for our favorite half-dozen barrels throughout the year. No surprise, each Vagon Rouge has its own personality, driven not just by the vintage, but by my eternal search for Pinot truth and sensory revelations. The one constant is the Gopher Hill clone, a surreptitious suitcase clone that is perfect for the far western reaches of the Sonoma Coast. Our barrels are highly allocated, and we often get just a couple (partly because this project is gaining notoriety). Vagon Rouge is a barrel selection from our cellar of individual lots that display distinctive Russian River Pinot Noir characteristics. This bottling includes barrels from the Lakeview, Susanna’s, Dutton Thomas Road and Mardikian Estate vineyards.

Vagon Rouge Pinot Noir

2014 Vintage

Tasting Notes

Intriguing and evolving, Vagon Rouge in this stellar vintage retains its big boned personality, with evident oak tannins and an herbal, forest floor earthiness leading to aromas and flavors of blue fruits (especially wild blueberries) and rich red cherry. Each year a few special barrels are selected, not necessarily a mythical and hard to define ‘best’ but certainly most interesting. Selections from four vineyards made the grade for this edition. For those with a bit of patience, rewards will follow. This is a wine on an epic journey, revelations yet to come.

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Winemaking

Vineyard: Lakeview, Dutton Ranch - Thomas Road, Susanna's & Mardikian Estate
Vintage: 2014
Appellation: Russian River Valley
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Vineyard Category: Blend of Vineyards
Body: bold/full, notable tannins
Profile Notes: Herbal, earthy, blue fruits, red fruits
Production Volume: 248 cases
Harvest Date: August 26 - September 24, 2014
Sugar: 22.7 - 25.5 Brix
Acid: 0.59 gms/100ml
PH: 3.55
Aging: Aged sur lie 17 months in French oak, 50% new
Bottling Date: February 23, 2016
Alcohol %: 14.3

Maccolades

~ 92 Points, “Outstanding” / “Beautifully balanced and easy to enjoy, with aromas and flavors of blueberry, boysenberry and blackberry seasoned with a deft touch of oak, finishing with good depth and vigor. Silky in the mouth, with welcome poise.”  – Rusty Gaffney, PinotFile

Maccolades

~ 92 Points, “Very Highly Recommended” / “Medium ruby color; attractive, forward, herbal, red cherry along with red and dark berry fruit in the aroma with notes of forest floor and toasty oak; medium-full body; deep, plush, ripe, red and dark fruit flavors balanced with bright acidity; medium to medium-full tannin; lingering aftertaste. Enjoyable to taste now, though deserving several more years of bottle aging.” – Nicholas Ponomareff, California Grapevine

Maccolades

“A Pinot that offers a curious mélange of red and blue fruits. Aromatic suggestions of saturated pomegranate and cranberry and red plums carry forward to the body, where they mingle with macerated blueberries and blueberry jam. Ripe and ample, the wine has modest tannins and tingly acidity shot with a gush of sweet ripe tomato. Perfumy, generous, friendly.”  – Meg Houston Maker, Maker’s Table

Maccolades

~ 5 Stars, “Exceptional, Very Highly Recommended” / “Among the best MacPhail wines yet.  A wonderful Pinot Noir: supple in texture, concentrated, and very well balanced; a wine with excellent depth and flavor (cherry, kola nut, red currant, plum, rosehips, black pepper, toast, spicy oak), and a firm, long finish.” – Ronn Wiegand, MW, MS, Restaurant Wine

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