2011 Marcassin "Marcassin Vineyard" Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

92 Points from Robert Parker: "The 2011 Pinot Noir Marcassin Vineyard has sweet berry fruit, roasted herbs, incense, a touch of background wood spice and foresty notes all present in this medium-bodied, slightly lighter style of Pinot Noir from Marcassin. This was a challenging vintage, but the wines turned out outstanding, and very Burgundian. The alcohol is 13.9%, which is one of their lowest sugar levels. The wine presents a very attractive, moderately intense perfume, good acidity and excellent precision. Drink it over the next 7-8 years.

Marcassin Pinot Noir
The acreage on the 20-acre Marcassin Estate Vineyard is equally split between Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The Pinot Noir parcels are planted with multiple clones, although the so-called Calera clone seems to have dominance over the others. All of these Pinot Noirs trend toward resembling grand crus from Morey-Saint-Denis in Northern Côtes de Nuits in Burgundy, given their forest floor, mushroom, sweet plum, currant and cherry notes. They are very sexy, lush and certainly capable of 10-15 years of cellaring, possibly longer. As we’re just coming up on 19 years on the 1996, Marcassin’s debut vintage, one thing that’s interesting is that the ripeness in their parcels is almost completely different each year, depending on the growing season. While some of the critics of these wines have claimed that they are relatively high in alcohol, the truth is that some are as low as the upper 13% range, and the ripest they have ever been tends to be just over 15%." (8/27/2015)

91 Points from Wine Spectator: "Offers a distinctive cloak of smoky, toasty oak, with mature, medium-weight notes of cherry-scented herb, beet root and savory underbrush. Gains depth and nuance on the aftertaste, lingering pleasantly." (4/30/2017)